Forest Dhamma · explained in the text. It is hoped that this book will bring the Dhamma to many people and that it will help many people to realise that the living Dhamma is still

Forest Dhamma

“The Gift of Dhamma Excels All Other Gifts”—The Lord Buddha

Forest DhammaA Selection of Talks on Buddhist Practice

Translated by:

A Forest Dhamma Publication

Ajaan Maha Boowa Ñanasampanno

Ajaan Paññavaddho

A Forest Dhamma Publication • FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION • All commercial rights reserved.

Dhamma should not be sold like goods in the market place. Permission to reproduce this publication

in any way for free distribution, as a gift of Dhamma, is hereby granted and no further permission

need be obtained. Reproduction in any way for commercial gain is strictly prohibited.

Author: Ajaan Mahā Boowa Ñāṇasampanno • Translator: Ajaan Paññāvaḍḍho

Design by: Mae Chee Melita Halim • Set in Fontin & Pali Palatino.

Forest Dhamma Books • Baan Taad Forest Monastery • Udon Thani 41000, Thailand

[email protected] • www.forestdhamma.org

Forest Dhamma

Contents

Introduction 7

Wisdom Develops Samādhi 9Sīla 11Samādhi 1 16Samādhi 2 — Wisdom Develops Samādhi 24Samādhi 3 27Wisdom 33

The Funeral Desanā 45

A Talk on Dhamma 71

The Development of Meditation 87Part 1 89Part 2 — Kammaṭṭhāna 108

F o r e s t D h a m m avi

The Need for Mindfulness & Wisdom 129

The Way of the Great Teacher — The Buddha • 153

Introduction

The dhamma Talks (desanā) which have been printed in this volume are all

translations from one or two books in which many of the talks of Ācariya Mahā

Boowa have been printed. With the exception of the first work—“Wisdom Develops

Samadhi”—which was written by the author, all of them were impromptu talks

which were tape recorded and transcribed into the Thai language.

Ācariya Mahā Boowa (Bhikkhu Ñāṇasampanno) is now the abbot of Wat Pa

Baan Taad, a forest monastery situated close to the village where he was born

and brought up. When he was old enough he was ordained, he went to Wat

Bodhisompon in Udon Thani where he was ordained as a bhikkhu under Ven.

Chao Khun Dhammachedi in 1934. Some while later he went away to find a medi-

tation teacher. He was directed towards Ven. Ācariya Mun (Bhūridatta Thera). He

has said that as soon as he met Ācariya Mun, he knew that this was his teacher.

He studied and practised for nine years under the guidance of Ven. Ācariya Mun,

who died in 1949 at the age of eighty years. After that, Ācariya Mahā Boowa prac-

tised the way on his own in the mountains and forests of Thailand. He then wan-

dered throughout the country, going to nearly every province. Eventually, he was

offered land to build a monastery by supporters near his home village. Since then

he has lived at Wat Pa Baan Taad.

It is only since Ācariya Mahā Boowa settled in Wat Pa Baan Taad that his writ-

ings have been published and his talks have been tape recorded, although it is said

that he gave many talks while he was wandering around Thailand.

F o r e s t D h a m m a8

With regard to the talks printed herein, the first one—“Wisdom Develops

Samadhi”—was written by Ven. Ācariya Mahā Boowa in the early 1960’s; it gives

most of the fundamentals of his teaching on meditation. All the remainder were

spoken as talks, the second and third having been given at Wat Bodhisompon in

Udon Thani on the occasion of the funeral of Ven. Chao Khun Dhammachedi. The

fourth and fifth talks were given at Mahā Makuta Buddhist University in Bangkok,

while the remainder were given to bhikkhus at Wat Pa Baan Taad. It is instructive

to examine the difference in style of those given to lay people and those given to

the bhikkhus. Many words in the talks have been left in Pāli because there is often

no adequate translation in English; it is hoped the reader will forgive any difficul-

ties that this may make, but it is felt better that the reader should not-understand

rather than mis-understand. However, a fairly comprehensive glossary has been

included at the back, which should cover all the Pāli words that are not actually

explained in the text. It is hoped that this book will bring the Dhamma to many

people and that it will help many people to realise that the living Dhamma is still

extant and is not just a thing of the distant past or of the distant future when the

next Buddha comes. May all who read this book gain from it that which will aid

them towards the supreme happiness of Nibbāna.

— Bhikkhu Paññāvaḍḍho, Wat Pa Baan Taad, 2004

Wisdom Develops

Samadhi

Sila

sīla—is ThaT which seTs a limiT to the “outgoing exuberance”1 in a person’s ac-

tions of body and speech and the responsibility for these actions and their results

rests with the heart.

Good people do not like to associate with someone whose “outgoing exuber-

ance” is not restrained by sīla, and nobody trusts him. In business and other af-

fairs, even if there are only one or two people who have bad sīla and no sense of

shame in their behaviour, it is certain that the social group in which they live and

work cannot remain secure for long. It is bound to be destroyed or set in disorder

by them in whatever way they can, as soon as they have a chance when others are

off their guard. It is like living with a fierce poisonous snake which is just waiting

to bite whenever one is unprotected.

Thus sīla is the Dhamma which protects the world, keeping it cool and happy

so that there shall be no cause for doubt, suspicion and mistrust which can arise

from a mutual lack of confidence in those things which are liable to cause friction

and trouble. These things often start in a small way and develop into larger things,

things which everyone wants to avoid.

Sīla is of many kinds, but here we will only consider the five sīla, the eight, ten

and 227 sīla, which different kinds of people should variously maintain as it suits

their status, age, and physical capabilities.

The five sīla are the most important for lay people who have dealings with

society in its various aspects. They should maintain these sīla as that which gives

a recommendation of their individual personal integrity and of their mutual in-


tegrity, thus keeping them from falling apart when they gain and lose from each

other in business or society everywhere.

It is noticeable how, if there are one or two people working in business, in a

company or in government service, who always maintain the five sīla, they are

just the people who are most liked, praised and trusted in all kinds of affairs by

their business associates, such as those affairs which are connected with money.

Whether such people remain in that work or go elsewhere, they will be well liked

and respected everywhere, because when they maintain sīla, it means that they

also have Dhamma within their hearts—like the taste of food which cannot be sep-

arated from its nature. And conversely, when such people have Dhamma within

them, they also have sīla, so that whenever they break any part of their sīla, it

means that at that time they do not have Dhamma within them, because Dhamma

is associated with the heart and sīla is associated with bodily actions and speech.

Therefore the good and bad actions of the body and speech indicate and show the

state of the heart—which is the leader and the one that is responsible.

If the heart always has Dhamma within it, the ways of the body and speech

are bound to be clean and free from blame in all their activities. Therefore, people

who perform clean actions of body and speech proclaim by these actions that they

are the kind of people who have Dhamma in their hearts, and moral behaviour

in their actions, speech and hearts. This attracts the hearts of other people every-

where so that they turn to such people—and so it is that they are always popular

and well thought of in all ages.

Even those who are unable to promote their actions, speech and hearts in the

foregoing way still have respect and reverence for those who have moral behav-

iour in their actions, speech and hearts, in the same way as all of us have respect

and reverence for the Lord Buddha and his true followers (sāvaka). This indicates

that moral behaviour, meaning that which is good and graceful, is always desir-

able and valuable in the world, and is never out of date.

W i s d o m D e v e l o p s S a m a d h i 13

Sometimes however, it happens that the nature of moral behaviour is altered

from its true or “inherent nature” into doctrines and traditions which come from

a people’s national, class, or cultural background. This is the reason why moral

behaviour becomes a thing of nation, class or cult, in accordance with these popu-

lar doctrines; and this is why different peoples throughout the world are con-

stantly criticizing and blaming each other. But apart from this, moral behaviour

is the way of merit which can always lead this age towards progress and develop-

ment for as long as people in this world are still interested in adjusting their own

actions of body, speech and heart to accord with the ways of moral behaviour.

Whenever the world has been disturbed and troubled, it is obvious that it is

because people have been lacking in moral behaviour and nowadays, if people do

not hasten to improve themselves in accordance with the true nature of moral be-

haviour, the powers of the world will soon erupt in their full fury, and even those

who wield the power will not survive and all will be destroyed.

But in particular in each family circle, if sīla, which is the basis of proper be-

haviour is lacking both husband and his wife will lack confidence in each other.

Before long there will arise doubt and suspicions that each is associating with

other women and men and having clandestine love affairs, which will undermine

the unity and prosperity of their family. If moral behaviour is lacking to this extent,

the dissatisfaction in their hearts will begin to come to fruition and they will be

full of trouble and worry. Even work, which is the basis of steady family life, will

be disrupted, and the children will all be involved in the prevailing air of dissen-

sion. But those who continue to act in immoral ways that are progressively worse

than the foregoing, are sure to find that sooner or later, all those things which were

firmly established suddenly start to flare up into dissension and trouble. Like a

pot full of water which is hit and breaks and all the water pours out and disperses

at once.


So if the world wants prosperity and civilisation, it is still necessary that it

should conform to the standards of moral behaviour—and how can anyone truly

speaking, object to the principle of truth which is moral behaviour, which has

been in the world since time immemorial?

Natural moral behaviour does not have to be asked for as precepts from a

bhikkhu (monk) or from someone in an official capacity in a Wat (monastery) or

elsewhere before it is established. For if a person respects and likes those charac-

teristics within himself which are right, good and graceful, and if he behaves in

this way personally as well as in association with others, avoiding actions which

are contrary to such good behaviour, it indicates that he has moral behaviour

within his character.

The reasons why morality arises in the heart and in behaviour of a person are:

Firstly—that it arises from a person’s “inherent nature”, as already mentioned

above.

Secondly—that it comes from association with wise people, such as recluses

and teachers—and that after learning from them one puts their teaching on moral

behaviour into practice.

These two things are sufficient to arouse the practise of moral behaviour in

oneself, and to enable one to become a person in whom it is constantly present.

These two will also be sufficient to preserve one’s own status and that of one’s

family in all forms of society with which they have dealings, and it will maintain

a freedom from suspicion and doubt both within one’s family circle and amongst

friends.

Lay people may practise only the five sīla, and while their activities are within

the bounds of moral behaviour, it will enable them and their families to be at ease

with a clear heart.


As for the eight, ten and 227 sīla, they are based upon the five sīla and are pro-

gressively more refined for those people who wish to practise the higher levels of

moral behaviour. But both in the practices of maintaining sīla and in paying atten-

tion to what one is doing, the rules or the method differ progressively from those

of the five sīla as one goes higher.

Summarizing briefly, sīla of every grade is for the purpose of controlling “out-

going exuberance” in the behaviour of body and speech. For one who practises it

correctly, it is also for the purpose of living in a “peaceful” way with a happy and

easy heart. And if one associates with other people, who themselves maintain sīla,

it is essential that one should oneself be a good person. But those who have low or

vulgar minds are not likely to understand the necessity for sīla, because they do

not want to become good people, nor to get involved in the world of good people,

and they always try to break up the happiness of others and to instigate trouble

and anger in the world whenever they get a chance to do so.

One should not think that moral behaviour is exclusively a human faculty, for

even animals can have some aspects of it. One needs only to observe the animals

which people look after in their homes to see how in some degree the hearts and

the behaviour of animals are permeated with the nature of Dhamma.

One who always has moral behaviour as the basis of his character, besides

being good natured, having the confidence and being popular with the people of

his village or district, will also be good-natured within himself every day of this

life and the next life also.

Moral behaviour is therefore a quality which is always necessary in the world.

Samadhi 1

all Types of kammaṭṭhāna-dhammas are for controlling the “outgoing exuber-

ance” of the heart. The heart which is not controlled by a kammaṭṭhāna is liable to

the arising of “outgoing exuberance” throughout life. This is so from infancy to

old age, it is so with the rich and the poor, with the clever and the stupid, with

those in high and low position in life, with the blind, deaf, paralysed, maimed,

deformed, and so on endlessly.

In Buddhism such people are considered to be still at the age of a “heart with

outgoing exuberance”. Their hearts have no greatness, they find no contentment,

they are ill-fated as regards happiness of heart, and when they die they lose in

all ways—like a tree which may have many branches, flowers and fruit, but if its

main root is damaged it will die and lose its greatness and everything else. But

unlike the body of a human being who has died, the trunk or branches of the tree

may still be useful for some other purpose.

The baneful effect of the “outgoing exuberance” of a heart which does not have

Dhamma as its guardian, is that it never finds true happiness, and even if happi-

ness does arise due to the “outgoing exuberance” of the heart searching for it and

finding it, it will be happiness of the type in which one is (like an actor) playing a

part, which increases the “outgoing exuberance”, making the heart go increasing-

ly in the wrong direction, and not the type of happiness which is truly satisfying.

Samādhi—which means calm or stability of heart, is that which opposes the

“outgoing exuberance”. The heart on the other hand, doesn’t want to take the

“medicine”, and the medicine is the kammaṭṭhāna.


“Outgoing exuberance” of the heart has been the enemy of all beings for

countless ages, and a person who wants to subdue the “outgoing exuberance” of

his own heart will need to compel his heart to take the medicine—which is the

kammaṭṭhāna.

Taking the medicine means training one’s heart in Dhamma and not allowing

it to go its own way, for the heart always likes to have “outgoing exuberance” as

a companion. In other words, taking the medicine means that the heart brings

Dhamma into itself as its guardian. The Dhamma which is the guardian of the

heart is called the kammaṭṭhāna.

There are forty types of kammaṭṭhāna-dhammas which variously accord with the

different temperaments of people. They include:

10 Kasiṇa (Devices for gazing at and concentrating upon)

10 Asubha (Contemplation of the states of the decomposition of a dead body)

10 Anussati (Various objects of contemplation)

4 Brahmavihāra (Friendliness, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity)

1 Āhārapatikkūlasaññā (Recollecting the loathsomeness of food)

1 Catudhātuvavatthana (Defining the four elements)

4 Arūpa jhānas (Developing the four formless jhānas)

Here we will confine ourselves to the consideration of a few of these methods

which are in general use and which are found to give satisfactory results. They

include:

1. Contemplation of the thirty-two parts of the body, including: kesā (hair of the

head), lomā (hair of the body), nakhā (nails), dantā (teeth), taco (skin), etc…

This first group of parts is called the “Five Kammaṭṭhānas”.

2. Contemplation of the “Buddha”, the “Dhamma” and the “Sangha”.

3. Ānāpānasati (Awareness of breathing in and out).


Whichever method is used it should suit one’s character, for characters differ, and

to teach that everyone should use only one kind of kammaṭṭhāna may well prove to

be a hindrance to some people, thus preventing their attaining the results which

they should attain.

When one finds the type of meditation that suits one’s character, one should

set one’s mind to begin doing the practice with a preparatory repetition

(parikamma), such as, “kesā” (hair of the head). One should then repeat it mentally

and not out loud, and at the same time one should keep one’s attention fixed upon

hair of the head. If however, one finds that thinking, on its own, is not able to cap-

ture the heart, one may repeat the preparatory repetition in the manner of a chant

so that the sound captivates the heart and it becomes calm and quiet. One should

continue repeating the preparatory repetition until the heart has become calm

and then one can stop. But whichever preparatory repetition is used, one should

retain conscious awareness of that kammaṭṭhāna. Thus in the foregoing example of

“kesā”, one should retain conscious awareness of the hair on one’s head.

If one uses one of the preparatory repetitions—“Buddho”, “Dhammo”, or

“Sangho”, one should set up knowledge of it just in the heart alone. These are

not like other types of kammaṭṭhānas, for here one should repeat “Buddho” (or

“Dhammo”, or “Sangho”) so that it is in continuous contact with the heart and re-

mains there until the one who repeats the “Buddho” of the preparatory repetition

and the “one who knows”, who is the heart, are found to be identical.

If it suits one’s character better to use the preparatory repetition “Dhammo” or

“Sangho”, one should repeat it so that it is in contact with the heart and remains

there until it is found to be identical with the heart. This is done in the same way

as the kammaṭṭhāna “Buddho”.

Ānāpānasati Bhāvanā (developing the awareness of breathing) uses the breath as

the objective support of the heart and consists in knowing and mindfulness (sati)

of in and out breathing.


In becoming aware of breathing, one should at first fix attention on the feeling

of the breath at the nose or the palate (roof of the mouth) 2, as it suits one, because

this is where the breath initially makes contact, and one may use this as a marker

point for holding one’s attention. Having done this until one has become skilled,

and the in and out breathing becomes finer and finer, one will progressively come

to know and understand the nature of the contact of in and out breathing, until

it seems that the breathing is located either in the middle of the chest or the solar

plexus.3

After this one must just fix one’s attention on breathing at that place and one

must no longer be concerned about fixing attention on the breathing at the tip of

the nose or the palate, nor about following it in and out with awareness.

In fixing attention on the breath one may also repeat “Buddho” in time with

the breath as a preparatory repetition to supervise the in and out breathing, in

order to assist the “one who knows” and to make the “one who knows” clear

with regard to the breath. Then the breath will appear more and more clearly to

the heart.

After having become skilled with the breath, every time one attends to the

breathing process, one should fix attention at the point in the middle of the chest

or the solar plexus.

In particular, it is important to have mindfulness established. One must estab-

lish mindfulness to control the heart so that one feels the breath at every moment

while it is entering or leaving, whether short or long, until one knows clearly that

the breathing is becoming progressively finer with every breath—and until finally

it becomes apparent that the finest and most subtle breath and the heart have

converged and become one.4 At this stage one should fix attention on the breath

exclusively within the heart, and there is no need to worry about the preparatory

repetition, for in becoming aware of the breath as entering and leaving, and as


short or long, the preparatory repetition is only for the purpose of making the

citta become more subtle.

When one has attained the most subtle level of breathing, the citta will be

bright, cool, calm, happy, and just knowing the heart—and there will be no con-

nection with any disturbing influence. Even if finally at that time, the breath gives

up its relationship with oneself, there will be no anxiety because the citta will

have let go of the burden and will just have knowledge of the heart alone. In other

words, it will be non-dual (ekaggatārammaṇa).

This is the result that comes from developing the practice of Anā-pānasati

Kammaṭṭhāna. But it should also be understood that whichever kammaṭṭhāna

is practised, and whoever practises it, this is the kind of result that should be

attained.

Concerning the preparatory development (parikamma bhāvanā); by using one

of these forms of kammaṭṭhānas for controlling the heart with mindfulness, one

will gradually be able to curb the “outgoing exuberance” of the heart. Calm and

happiness will then arise and develop, and there will be only one thing influenc-

ing the heart, which will be a knowing of the heart alone without any disturbance

or distraction, for there will be nothing which can irritate or disturb the heart to

make it fall away from this state. This is the nature of happiness of heart, just the

heart being free from all vain imaginings and thought creations.

When this state is attained, the person who is doing the practice will know that

which is wondrous in his heart, the like of which he has never encountered before.

This is a deeply felt state of happiness, more so than anything which he has previ-

ously experienced.

It is also possible that while practising a given type of kammaṭṭhāna, the char-

acteristics of that form of kammaṭṭhāna may appear to some people. For example,

hair of the head, or hair of the body, or nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews; or bones,

etc., any of which may appear and be seen clearly with the heart, as though one


were looking at it with one’s eyes. If this happens, one should pay attention to it

and see it clearly until it becomes fixed in one’s heart, and the longer one can pay

attention to it, retain it in this way and fix it in one’s heart, the better.

When the above object has been intimately fixed in one’s heart, one must ap-

preciate it in the right way by attending to the unpleasant and loathsome aspects

of it, for this is the nature of all the parts of the body, both internally and exter-

nally. Then divide the body into parts, or into groups of parts depending on their

nature. One may take such groups as hair of the head, hair of the body, flesh,

bones, and so on; and one may contemplate them as rotting and decayed, as being

burnt, as being eaten by vultures, crows and dogs, and see them breaking down

into their basic elements—earth, water, fire, air.

Whether one has much or little skill, doing the practice in this way will be of

great value when it is done for the purpose of making the heart skilled in seeing

the body, for the purpose of seeing truly what is in the body, and for the purpose

of reducing and eliminating delusion in regard to the nature of the body, this de-

lusion being what gives rise to sexual craving (rāga-taṇhā)—which is one aspect

of the “outgoing exuberance” of the heart. One’s heart will then become progres-

sively more calm and subtle.

It is important when parts of the body appear, that one should not ignore them

and pass them by without interest, nor must one be afraid of them, but one should

fix them right in front of one then and there.

When a person who practises meditation has seen this body until it has truly

become fixed in his heart, he will feel wearied of himself and will feel the sorrow

and misery of himself so that he is horrified and shocked. In addition, the heart

of a person to whom the body appears, and who faces up to it while practising

meditation will be able to attain samādhi very quickly, and the practice of seeing

the body will make his wisdom clear at the same time as his heart becomes calm.5


A person who does not see the parts of the body should understand that all

preparatory meditation (parikamma bhāvanā) is for the purpose of leading the citta

to a state of both calm and happiness, so one should not feel doubtful about any

of these methods that they will not lead the citta to a state of calm, and later on

to see danger 6 with wisdom. One must be determined in whichever meditation

one is practising, and repeat whichever preparatory repetition suits one, without

becoming disheartened nor feeling like giving up.

It should be realised that whichever method of meditation is practised, it leads

to the same goal as all the other methods, and it should also be realised that all

these methods of Dhamma will lead the heart to peace and happiness—in other

words, to Nibbāna—which is the final goal of all types of meditation development.

Therefore one must do one’s own meditation practice and not be concerned about

other types of meditation, otherwise one will be in a state of doubt and uncer-

tainty, and unable to decide which of them is the right way, which would be a con-

stant obstacle to one’s citta, thus preventing one from carrying out one’s original

resolve.

Instead, one must determine that one will be really mindful in the practice, and

one must not arrange sīla, samādhi and paññā in any special order, nor let them go

away from the heart, because the defilements (kilesas) of passion, hate, delusion

and the rest, dwell in the heart and nobody has arranged them in order.7 When

one thinks in wrong and faulty ways, it arouses the defilements in one’s heart.

One does not decide nor arrange that this one will come earlier, and that one later,

for if it is a defilement immediately one thinks wrongly, and whatever type it is, so

it arises, and they all make one troubled or passionate in the same way. The defile-

ments are always bound to be of this nature, and it is of no consequence in which

order they arise for all of them are able to make one troubled and passionate.

Therefore in curing the defilements, one must not wait to develop sīla first,

then samādhi second and paññā third—which may be called: “developing samādhi


stage by stage”—for this is always in the past and future and one would never be

able to attain calm and happiness.

Samadhi 2 —Wisdom Develops Samadhi

The True purpose of mediTaTion practice is to bring about calm in the heart.

If one cannot attain calm by lulling the heart with a preparatory method

(parikamma), one must use the way of subduing it by intimidation. In other words,

by using wisdom to search out and examine those things to which the citta is at-

tached, and depending on how skilful one’s wisdom is, to search for a way to goad

the disobedient citta with what wisdom reveals until it surrenders to wisdom and

the heart accepts the truth about the things to which it is attached. Then the heart

cannot be distracted and restless and must drop into a state of calm; in the same

way as a work animal whose “outgoing exuberance” must be trained by constant

goading so that it surrenders to the will of its master.

The following analogy may help to illustrate this method. In a place where

there are few trees and each one standing on its own, if a man wanted to cut one

down he could do so and make it fall where he wanted. He could then take it and

use it as he wished with no difficulty.

But if he wanted to cut a tree down in a forest where its branches were en-

tangled with other trees and creepers, he may find it difficult to fell the tree and

to make it fall just where he wanted. So the woodcutter must use his wisdom and

examine carefully to find out what is entangled with the tree, and then by cutting

away all the entanglements he could fell it just where he wanted and use it how-

ever he wished without difficulty.


All of us have characters which are comparable with these two trees, for some

types of people do not have much in their environment to burden them and act

as a drag on their minds. When they use only a preparatory meditation such as

“Buddho”, “Dhammo” or “Sangho”, the citta is able to become calm and peace-

ful and drop into a state of samādhi. This becomes the basis for the development

of wisdom (paññā) and enables them to go ahead with ease—which is called

“Samādhi Develops Wisdom”.

But there are other people who have many things in their environment to

burden and oppress their hearts and their natures are such that they like think-

ing a lot. If they train themselves by using a preparatory meditation as described

in the foregoing chapter, they are not able to cause the citta to drop into the calm

of samādhi. They must therefore carefully use wisdom to examine the reasons for

this, in order to sever the root cause of their distraction by means of wisdom.

When wisdom has been nagging at those things to which the citta is firmly at-

tached, what the citta knows about them cannot be superior to that which wisdom

reveals, so the citta will then drop into a state of calm and attain samādhi.

People of this type must therefore train the citta to attain samādhi by using

wisdom, which may be called “Wisdom Develops Samādhi”—and is also the title

given to this book.

When samādhi steadily develops due to the use of wisdom, the samādhi then

becomes the basis for further wisdom at a higher level. This latter stage then con-

forms with the basic principle that: “Samādhi Develops Wisdom”.

A person who wants to train his heart to become skilful, and to know what

is behind the deluded tricks of the defilements (kilesas), must not be attached to

study and learning in Buddhism to such an extent that it gives rise to the de-

filements. But also he must not abandon study and learning, for to do this goes

beyond the teaching of the Lord. Both these ways are contrary to the purpose

which the Lord Buddha desired that one should aim at.


In other words, when one is practising meditation for the purpose of develop-

ing samādhi, do not let the citta grasp at what it has learnt by study, for it will be led

into thoughts of the past and future. One must instead make the citta keep to the

present, which means that just that aspect of Dhamma which one is developing

must be one’s only concern.

When there is some question or point of doubt in connection with one’s citta

which one is unable to resolve, one may then check it by study and learning after

one has finished one’s meditation practice. But it is wrong to check one’s practice

all the time with what one has learnt by study, for this will be mere intellectual

knowledge, and not knowledge which comes from development in meditation,

and it is not the right way.

Summarising the above: if the citta attains calm with an object of calm (samatha),

that is, with a preparatory repetition that comes from an aspect of Dhamma that

one is developing, one should continue with that method. But if it attains calm

only by the use of wisdom, using various expedient methods to overcome difficul-

ties, then one should always use wisdom to help in the attainment of calm.

The results which come from training in both these ways (i.e. samādhi devel-

ops wisdom, and wisdom develops samādhi), are the development of ‘Calm and

Wisdom’, which will have a hidden radiance coming from the calm.

Samadhi 3

samādhi is By name and naTure “calmness”. It is of three kinds as follows:

1. Khaṇika Samādhi—in which the heart becomes unwaveringly fixed and calm

for a short time after which it withdraws.

2. Upacāra Samādhi—of which the Lord Buddha said, that it is almost the same,

but it lasts longer than khaṇika samādhi. Then the citta withdraws from this

state.

3. Appaṇā Samādhi—is samādhi that is subtle, firm and unwavering, and in which

one can remain concentrated for a long time. One may also remain concen-

trated in this state, or withdraw from it as one wishes.

Here, Upacāra Samādhi will be briefly discussed from the viewpoint of the “Forest

Dhamma”.8

In Upacāra Samādhi, when the citta has dropped into a calm state it does not

remain in that state, but partially withdraws from it to follow and get to know

about various things which have come into contact with the heart.

Sometimes something arises concerning oneself and one sees a vision (nimitta)

which is sometimes good and sometimes bad, but in the first stage the nimitta

will generally be something about oneself. If one is not careful this can lead to

trouble, because nimittas which arise from this kind of samādhi are of innumerable

varieties.

Sometimes in front of one there appears an image of oneself lying down dead,

the body decayed and swollen, or it may be the dead body of someone else.


Sometimes it is a skeleton, or bones scattered about, or maybe one sees it as a

corpse being carried past.

When such a nimitta appears, a clever person will take it as his Uggaha Nimitta;

in order that it may become the Paṭibhāga Nimitta 9, because this will steadily lead

to samādhi becoming firm and to wisdom becoming penetrating and strong.

For a person, who has a strong ability in maintaining a detached rational at-

titude, to be successful in gaining value from such a nimitta he will always tend to

develop mindfulness and wisdom (sati-paññā) when faced with it. But there are a

lot of people whose natures are timid and easily frightened, and Upacāra Samādhi

may do harm to the citta of a person of this type because this class of samādhi is of

many different kinds and many frightening experiences can occur. For example,

the image of a man may appear, whose bodily shape, colour and social position10

are all frightening, and he may appear as though about to slash at one with a

sword, or to eat one.

If however, one has little fear and is not timid, one can suffer no harm in such

circumstances and one will learn more and more methods of curing one’s citta

from these kinds of nimittas, or samādhi. But with a timid person—who usually

tends to look for fearful things—the more he sees a frightening nimitta the larger

it becomes, and at such a time he may unfortunately be driven mad.

As for external nimittas which come and go, one may or may not know whether

a nimitta is external or whether it arises from oneself. But when one has become

skilled with internal nimittas which arise from oneself, one will be able to know

which are external nimittas. External nimittas are associated with many different

happenings of people, animals, pretas, bhūtas (ghosts of the dead), the son of a

deva, a devatā, Indra, or Brahma, any of which may at that time be associated with

one’s samādhi, even as one talks to a guest who comes on a visit. When such in-

cidents occur they may last for a long or short time depending on how long the

necessary conditions last that are required for such happenings.


Sometimes however, the first set of conditions dies away and another set of

conditions arises continuing from the first set, which is not easily brought to a

close for the theme may be of short or long duration. When it dies away and the

citta withdraws, it may have spent several hours in this state.

For however long the citta remains concentrated in this kind of samādhi, when

it withdraws one will find that it has not increased one’s strength of samādhi, nor

made it more firm and durable, nor will it have helped to develop and strengthen

one’s wisdom. It is like going to sleep and dreaming, when one wakes one’s mind

and body will not have gained their full strength.

But when one withdraws from the type of samādhi in which one became con-

centrated and remained in this one state, one will find that the strength of one’s

samādhi has increased and it has become more firm and durable. Like someone

who sleeps soundly without dreaming, when he wakes his body and mind will

feel strong.

In Upacāra Samādhi, if one is still not skilled and does not use wisdom to be

careful and watchful on all sides, it may cause much trouble—and can drive one

mad. Those people who practise meditation generally call this state “Broken

Dhamma”, and it comes about because of this type of samādhi. But if it is done

with due care it can be of value in connection with some things.

As for the Uggaha Nimitta which arises from the citta, as was explained at the

beginning of this chapter, this nimitta is the most suitable basis for the develop-

ment of the Paṭibhāga Nimitta, which accords with the principles of meditation of

those who want a method which is both skilful and truly wise, because this is the

nimitta that is associated with the Ariya Sacca (Noble Truths). One must absorb the

impression of the Paṭibhāga Nimitta into one’s heart, then it may be considered to

be the Ariya Sacca.11

Both nimittas which arise from oneself and those which come from external

sources may lead to trouble if one is a timid person, and it is important to have


wisdom and courage when things happen. But one who has wisdom is not one-

sidedly biased against Upacāra Samādhi. It is like a poisonous snake, which al-

though dangerous, is sometimes kept by people who can benefit from it.

The methods of practising with both kinds of nimittas arising from this type of

samādhi (Upacāra Samādhi) are thus as follows:

1. The nimitta which arises from the citta is called the “internal nimitta”, and

one must go on and turn it into the Paṭibhāga Nimitta as has already been

explained above.

2. The nimitta which arises and is due to external entities such as a person or

animal. If one is still not skilled at samādhi, one must stop and one must not,

for the time being take any further interest in the matter. But when one has

become skilled at samādhi, one may let the citta go out and follow the nimitta

and find out what is taking place. It will then be of great value to link to-

gether the events of the past and future.

Samādhi of this kind is very strange, and one must not go to extremes and hastily

become either enraptured by it, or sorry, but one must make the heart bold and

fearless when the various kinds of nimittas arise from Upacāra Samādhi, and at the

outset see them in terms of the ti-lakkaṇa (anicca, dukkha and anattā) as soon as any

appear.12 Then they will not cause any trouble.

It should however be understood that the kind of samādhi in which these

nimittas appear does not occur in every case, and where it does not occur, for

however long the citta remains in a concentrated state, hardly any nimittas appear.

These are the type of people of whom one may say that, “Wisdom Develops

Samādhi”. With these types of people, even when the citta has dropped down into

a calm and concentrated state, nimittas do not arise however long they remain in

this state, because wisdom is associated with and gets involved with the samādhi.13

But where Samādhi Develops Wisdom, it is probable that a nimitta will appear

in nearly every case, because this kind of citta drops into a concentrated state very


quickly; like a person who falls into a well or pit, he does so because he is not

careful and falls suddenly. Thus the citta drops down all at once and reaches its

resting place, then it retreats from there and comes to know various things, and at

that moment a nimitta appears. This is the way it occurs in nearly all such people

whose citta is of this type.

But whatever type of samādhi is developed, wisdom is always the thing that

is important. When one has withdrawn from samādhi, one must contemplate the

elements (dhātu) and the khandhas with wisdom, because wisdom and samādhi are

a “Dhamma pair” which go together and cannot be separated.

So if samādhi does not progress sufficiently, one must use wisdom to assist it.

This is the end of the section dealing with Upacāra Samādhi.

It should be understood that samādhi of all types is what aids and supports

the development of wisdom, and the extent to which it does this depends on the

strength of one’s samādhi. In other words, samādhi which is gross, middling, or

subtle, aids and supports wisdom which is gross, middling, or subtle respectively,

and it is up to a wise person to turn his samādhi to use by developing wisdom.

But generally speaking, whatever type of samādhi is attained, one who prac-

tises meditation is likely to become attached to it, because when the citta drops

into a concentrated state and while it rests there, a state of calm and happiness is

present. It can be said that in being attached to samādhi, or calm, the citta has no

problems while it remains concentrated, and can remain at rest for as long as one

wishes, depending on the level of one’s samādhi.

An important thing is that, when the citta has withdrawn, it still longs for its

state of repose although one has enough calm to meditate using wisdom—and

one’s calm is sufficient so that one should be able to use wisdom very effectively.

But one still tries to stay in a state of calm, without being at all interested in the


development of wisdom. This is becoming addicted to samādhi and being unable

to withdraw from it in order to go further.

Wisdom

The righT and smooTh way for one who practises meditation, once the citta has

become sufficiently calm to see the way, is to begin by training it to investigate the

parts of the body with wisdom, either singly or as many parts, opening up and

looking into one’s own body. One may start from hair of the head, hair of the body,

nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, spleen, heart, liver, pleura, kidneys,

lungs, small intestine, large intestine, fresh food, old food (digested food)…etc.,

these altogether, being called the thirty two parts of the body. These parts are by

normal standards always loathsome and detestable, and there is not one of them

which is beautiful and charming—as they are usually thought to be by people in

the world.

In life these parts are loathsome and unpleasant, and in death even more so,

quite irrespective of whether they are the bodily parts of an animal or human

beings, man or woman, for this is the nature of all of them.

The world is full of things such as these loathsome parts and it is hard to find

anything more strange. But whoever lives in this world must have such things,

must be such things and must see such things.

Anicca—Impermanence—is the nature of this body.

Dukkha—Hardship and Pain—is the nature of this body.

Anattā—The negation of the desires of all beings—is the nature of this body.

Things which do not fulfil any of one’s hopes are about and within this body.

Delusion with regard to beings and sankhāras, is delusion with regard to this

body. Attachment to beings and sankhāras is attachment to this body. Separation


from beings and sankhāras is separation from this body. The infatuations of love

and hate are infatuation with this body. Not wanting death is anxiety about this

body—and when dead, the weeping and mourning of relations and friends is

because of this body.

The distress and suffering from the day of one’s birth to the time of one’s death

is because of this body. All day and night, animals and people run this way and

that in swarms, searching for places to live and food, because of the nature of this

body.

The great cause and the great story in this world, which is the wheel that whirls

people and animals around without ever letting them open their eyes properly to

the nature of their state, and is like a fire burning them all the time, is the story

of this body which is the cause of it all. Beings are inundated by the defilements

(kilesas) until they are quite unable to extricate themselves from this situation, be-

cause of this body. In brief, the whole story of this world is the story of what con-

cerns this body alone.

When one examines the body and what is related to it with wisdom, in the

foregoing way without stopping, so that it becomes clear and evident to the heart,

from where can the defilements raise their army to prevent the heart dropping

into a state of calm? Wisdom is proclaiming the truth and making the heart listen,

and when it is doing this all the time, where can the heart go to oppose the truth

that comes from wisdom? From the heart come the defilements, and from the heart

comes wisdom, so how could it be that the heart, which is “oneself”, should not

be able to cure one’s own defilements by means of wisdom? And when wisdom

dwells upon the body in this way, why should one not see clearly within the body?

When the heart views the body in the foregoing way, with wisdom, it will

become wearied both of one’s own body and the bodies of other people and ani-

mals. This will reduce one’s pleasurable excitement in regard to the body, and

will thus withdraw “upādāna”—fixed attachment—to the body, by means of


“samucheddha-pahāna” (cutting off attachment by abandoning it). At the same time

one will know the body and all its parts as they truly are, and one will no longer

be deluded by love or hate for the body of anyone or anything.

The citta in using the spyglass of wisdom to go sightseeing in the “City of the

Body” can see one’s own “Body City” and then that of other people and animals

quite clearly, until one comes to see in greater detail that all the roads, streets and

alleyways are divided into three aspects, which are the ti-lakkhaṇa—anicca, dukkha

and anattā—and into four aspects, which are the four elements (dhātu)—earth,

water, fire, air—and this is so throughout every part of the whole body. Even the

lavatory and the kitchen are to be found within this “Body City”.

One who is able to see the body clearly in this way may be classed as a

“Lokavidū”—one who can see clearly within the “City of the Body” throughout all

the three world spheres (ti-loka-dhātu) by means of “Yathā-Bhūta-Ñāṇadassana”—

which means seeing in a true way everything within the body and coming to the

end of all doubts with regard to the body—and this is called “Rūpa Dhamma”.

We now go on to a discussion of vipassanā in connection with “Nāma Dhammas”.

Nāma dhammas include vedanā, saññā, sankhāra and viññāna, these four being

the second group of the five khandhas, but they are more subtle than the rūpa

khandha which is the body. One cannot look into them with one’s eyes, but one can

come to know them by way of the heart.

Vedanā—means those things (feelings) which are experienced by the heart that

are sometimes pleasant, sometimes painful, and sometimes neutral.

Saññā—means remembering (recollecting)—for example, remembering names,

sounds, objects and things, or verses in the Pāli language, etc.

Sankhāra—means thinking or thought constructing (imagination)—such as

thoughts which are good or evil, or thoughts which are neither good nor evil; or


for example, thought constructing which is based on the past and imagining the

future.

Viññāna—means awareness (sense awareness)—of forms, sounds, smells, tastes,

or things which touch us, and of mental objects, just at that moment when these

things come into contact with the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or heart respectively.

These four nāma dhammas are the activities of the heart, they come from the

heart, they may be known in the heart, and if the heart is not careful they are also

the deceivers (māyā) of the heart, and so they are also the things which can hide

or obscure the truth.

Investigation of these four nāma dhammas must be done with wisdom, and en-

tirely in terms of the ti-lakkhaṇa, because into whatever mode they change, these

khandhas always have the ti-lakkhaṇa present within them. But when investigat-

ing these four khandhas one may do so in any one of them and in any one of the

ti-lakkhaṇa as one’s heart truly prefers, or one may do so generally in all of them

together if it prefers it that way, because each of the khandhas and the ti-lakkhaṇa

are aspects of the Dhamma which are linked and related together. Thus if one

investigates only one of the khandhas or ti-lakkhaṇa, it will lead one to understand,

and to see deeply and fully into all the other khandhas and ti-lakkhaṇa, the same

as if one investigated them all together at the same time, because all of them have

the Ariya Sacca (The Noble Truths) as their boundary, their territory, and as that

which accommodates them.14 This is like eating food, all of which goes down into

one place (the stomach) and then permeates to all parts of the body, which is the

total territory that accommodates it.

Therefore one who practises must set up mindfulness and wisdom so as to get

close and intimate with the nāma dhamma—which are these four khandhas. All the

time these khandhas are changing, for they appear, remain for a time then die away

and cease, and being impermanent they are also dukkha and anattā. This is how

they display and proclaim their true nature, but they never have time to stop and


look at it. They never have time to become calm, not even one moment. Internally,

externally, everywhere throughout every realm (loka-dhātu), they proclaim with

one voice that they are impermanent, and are thus dukkha and anattā, and that

they reject the longings of beings and this means that none of these things have an

owner. They proclaim that they are always independent and free, and that who-

ever deludedly becomes attached to them only meets with suffering, depression

and sorrow which fill his thoughts and heart until in the end his tears of misery

are like an ever-flooded river—and it will continue to be thus throughout time

while beings remain deluded and entangled. Yet it is easy to point out that the five

khandhas are the well of tears of those who are steeped in delusion.

Investigating all the khandhas and sabhāva dhammas (things in nature) with

right wisdom so as to know them clearly is for the purpose of minimising one’s

tears and for diminishing the process of becoming and birth, or for cutting them

away from the heart, which is the owner of dukkha, so that one may receive perfect

happiness.

Sabhāva dhammas such as the khandhas are poisonous to one who is still sunk in

delusion, but one who truly knows all the khandhas and sabhāva dhammas as they

are, cannot be harmed by them and may still obtain value from them in appropri-

ate ways. It is like a place where thorny bushes grow, they are dangerous to anyone

who does not know where they are and who gets entangled in them. But some-

one who knows all about them can use them to make a fence or a boundary for a

building site, thus obtaining value from them in appropriate ways. Therefore, one

who practises must act skillfully in relation to the khandhas and sabhāva dhammas.

All these things (khandhas and sabhāva dhammas) arise and die away based on

the citta the whole time, and one must follow and know what is happening to

them with an all-embracing wisdom that will immediately know what they are

up to. One must take this up as an important task to be done in all four postures,

without being careless or forgetful.


The teaching of Dhamma (Dhamma-desanā) which comes from the khandhas

and sabhāva dhammas everywhere at this stage, will appear by way of unceasing

mindfulness and wisdom, and this teaching will not be lacking in eloquence of

expression. All the time it will proclaim the facts of the ti-lakkhaṇa within one by

day and night, and while standing, walking, sitting or lying down, and this is

also the time when one’s wisdom should be ripe for listening, as though one were

meditating on the Dhamma-desanās of the wisest monks.

At this level, the person who is doing the practice will be completely absorbed

in his research into the true nature of the khandhas and sabhāva dhammas which

are proclaiming the truth of themselves, and he will hardly be able to lie down

and sleep because of the strength of the energy in the basis of his nature, which

searches by means of wisdom into the khandhas and sabhāva dhammas without

resting or stopping—these (khandhas and sabhāva dhammas) being the same as the

basis of his nature.

Then from the khandhas and sabhāva dhammas he will obtain the truth, and

it will be made clear to his heart by wisdom that all the khandhas and sabhāva

dhammas everywhere throughout the three world spheres (ti-loka-dhātu) are of

such a nature and normality that none of them seem to be defilements and crav-

ing (kilesas and taṇhā) in any way whatsoever, which is in contrast to the deluded

understanding of most people.

The following simile may help to explain this. Supposing some things are stolen

by a thief, those things become tainted by association with the thief. But once the

authorities have carefully investigated the case until they have sufficient witnesses

and evidence, and are satisfied, the stolen goods which have been recovered can

be returned to their original owner, or kept in a safe place so that no blame shall

be attached to them. The authorities are then no longer concerned with the stolen

goods, but only with the punishment of the thief. They must then obtain evidence

against the thief and arrest him and bring him to trial in accordance with the law.


When the truth of his guilt is established by reliable witnesses and evidence, the

blame is put on the accused in accordance with the law, and any others who were

not to blame would be allowed to go free, as they were before the incident.

The behaviour of the citta with ignorance (avijjā), and all the sabhāva dhammas,

are similar to this, for the khandhas and sabhāva dhammas throughout all the three

world spheres (ti-loka-dhātu) are not at fault and are entirely free from any defile-

ments or evil ways, but they are associated with them because the citta, which is

entirely under the power of avijjā, does not itself know the answer to the question:

“Who is avijjā?”

Avijjā and the citta are blended together as one, and it is the citta which is com-

pletely deluded that goes about forming loves and hates which it buries in the

elements (dhātu) and khandhas—that is, in forms, sounds, smells, tastes and bodily

feeling, and in the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and heart. It also buries love and

hate in rūpa, vedanā, saññā, sankhāra and viññāna, throughout the whole universe

(ti-loka-dhātu). It is the things of nature which are seized, and it is love and hate

which come from the whole of this deluded heart that grasp and seize them.

Because of the power of seizing and grasping, which are the causes, this “avijjā

heart” wanders through birth, old age, sickness and death, going round and round

in this way through each and every life, regardless of whether it is higher or lower,

good or evil, through all the three realms of becoming (bhava).

The different kinds of birth that beings may take in these realms of becoming

are countless, yet the citta with avijjā is able to grasp at birth in any of these realms

in accordance with the supporting conditions of this citta and depending on how

weak or strong and good or evil they may be. This heart must then go and be born

in those circumstances that present a complete environment to which the heart

(with these supporting conditions) is related.

Thus the citta gradually changes into ways which are false to its true nature,

due only to the power of avijjā, and it begins to stain and colour everything in


the universe in a false manner, thus altering the natural state. In other words, the

original basic elements change and become animals, people, birth, old age, sick-

ness and death, in accordance with the usual delusion (avijjā) of beings.

When one understands clearly with wisdom, that the five khandhas and the

sabhāva dhammas are not the main story, nor the ones who started the story, but are

only involved in the story because avijjā is the one who wields the authority and

power, compelling all sabhāva dhammas to be of this nature, then wisdom searches

for the source of it all, which is the “Citta That Knows”, which is the “well” out of

which all the stories of all things arise endlessly in all situations, and wisdom has

no confidence in this knowledge.

When mindfulness and wisdom have been developed by training for a long

time until they are fully proficient, they will be able to surround and to penetrate

straight through to the “great centre”. In other words, “the one who knows” (i.e.

the citta that knows), who is full of avijjā, does not hesitate to fight against wisdom.

But when avijjā can no longer stand against the “Diamond Sword”, which is un-

shakeable mindfulness and wisdom, it falls away from the citta which has been its

supreme throne for aeons.

As soon as avijjā has been destroyed and has dropped away from the citta,

due to the superior power of “Magga Ñāṇa”, which is the right weapon for use

at this time, the whole of truth which has been suppressed and covered by avijjā

for countless ages is then disclosed and revealed as the “goods which have been

stolen”,15 or as the entire complete truth. Dhamma which was never before known,

then finally appears as “Yathā-Bhūta-Ñāṇadassana”—knowledge and true insight

into all sabhāva dhammas—which are revealed without the least thing remaining

hidden or obscured.

When avijjā, the Lord who rules the round of death, has been destroyed by the

weapon of “Paññā Ñāṇa”, Nibbāna will be revealed to the one who thus acts truly,

knows truly, and sees truly—it cannot be otherwise.


All the sabhāva dhammas, from the five khandhas to the internal and external

āyatanas and up to the whole of the ti-loka-dhātu are the Dhamma which is re-

vealed as it truly is. There is then, nothing that can arise as an enemy to one’s

heart in the future—except for the vicissitudes of the five khandhas which must be

looked after until they reach their natural end.

So the whole story is that of avijjā—which is just “false knowing”—which goes

around molesting and obstructing natural conditions so that they are changed

from their true natural state. Just by the cessation of avijjā, the world (loka), which

means the natural state of things everywhere becomes normal and there is noth-

ing left to blame or criticise it. It is as if a famous brigand had been killed by the

police, after which the citizens of the town could live happily and need no longer

go about watchfully for fear of the brigand.

The heart is then possessed of “Yathā-Bhūta-Ñāṇadassana” which means that it

knows, sees and follows the truth of all the sabhāva dhammas, and this knowledge

is balanced and no longer inclines to one-sided views or opinions.

From the day that avijjā is dispersed from the heart, it will be entirely free in

its thinking, meditating, knowing and seeing into the sabhāva dhammas which are

associated with the heart. The eye, ear, nose, etc., and form, sound, smell, etc., then

become free in their own natural sphere respectively, without being oppressed and

forced, nor promoted and encouraged by the heart as usually happens. Because

the heart is now in a state of Dhamma and impartiality, for it is impartial towards

everything so that it will no longer have any enemies or foes. This means that the

citta and all sabhāva dhammas in the universe (ti-loka-dhātu) are mutually in a state

of complete peace and calm by virtue of the perfect Truth.

The work of the citta and of insight (vipassanā) into the nāma dhammas which

are associated with the citta ends at this point.

I want to beg the pardon of all of you who practise for the purpose of getting

rid of the defilements using the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha, who find this expo-


sition different from those that you have been used to. But one should see that the

Dhamma in all the old Buddhist texts also points directly at the defilements and

the Dhamma which are within oneself, for one must not think that the defilements

and Dhamma are hidden elsewhere, external, apart from oneself.

One who has “Opanayika Dhamma” (Dhamma which leads inward) firmly in

his heart will be able to free himself, because the “Sāsana Dhamma” (Buddhist

Dhamma) teaches those who listen to it to make it “Opanayika”—in other words,

to bring the Dhamma into oneself. And please do not think that the Dhamma

teaching of the Buddha is a thing of the past or future and that it concerns only

those who are dead and those who are yet to be born. One should realise that the

Lord Buddha did not teach people who were already dead, nor those who were

still to be born. He taught people who lived at that time and who were still alive

in the same way as all of us are still alive, for it is the nature of Buddhism to exist

in the present and to be always a thing of today.

May you all be happy without exception, and may blessings come to all of you

who read or hear this.

Thank you.

aspire4935

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Notes:

1. Outgoing exuberance—is a translation of the Thai word “kanong”, which is more usually

translated as “high-spirited”, “exuberant” (Thai-English Students Dictionary—Mary Haas).

But the usage of the word in the context of this article is unusual, and means the display of

self by way of body, speech and thought, and involving the conceited opinion of self which

such a display is designed to proclaim both to oneself and others. All of which arises from

those defilements of character which are called “rāga taṇhā” (sexual arousing).

2. This method of practice is not done with one’s mouth open so the breath as physical air

does not pass over the palate. But nevertheless many people have a strong feeling response

at this point as though the breath was passing back and forth.

3. The breath is seen (or felt) in the middle of the chest or the solar plexus, much as it is felt at

the tip of the nose in the earlier stages of the practice. On being questioned, the author said

that “the middle of the chest” and “the solar plexus” were one place located at the bottom

end of the breastbone. But he also said that if one understood them to be two separate places,

either of which could be the location for awareness of breathing, one would not be wrong.

4. In other words, it seems as if the citta is the breathing, and as if the breathing is the citta.

5. Because one is using parts of the body as one’s kammaṭṭhāna, once the samādhi develops,

wisdom will automatically develop, seeing the true nature of the body as anicca, dukkha,

anattā and loathsome. In other types of practice, such as ānāpānasati, it is necessary to make

the effort to turn towards contemplations of the body, and such like, once samādhi is devel-

oped, but with contemplation of the body it is inherently part of the practice.

6. Danger—means the danger of this body which may die at any time from any one of many

causes, and also the danger of the defilements (kilesas) which may lead one to bad or terrible

realms and births.

7. This passage means that one must not develop sīla, samādhi and paññā concurrently, because

the kilesas arise higgledy-piggledy, and at any time one may require the methods of either


sīla, samādhi or paññā to cure particular types of kilesas. Thus one could not successfully deal

with more than a part of the arising kilesas if one were to develop these three in order, one

after the other.

8. “Forest Dhamma” is the author’s way of saying that the following exposition is derived

from the experiences of meditation monks and not from theory or books.

9. The definitions of the glossary are here used in a different sense. The Author said when

questioned that the sense in which they are used herein is that the Uggaha Nimitta is the

basic nimitta, the one that “uprises” or comes into being. When the Uggaha Nimitta breaks

up into its components, it is called the Paṭibhāga Nimitta. Thus for example, the vision of

one’s physical body may be the Uggaha Nimitta, but when this breaks open and displays all

the parts and organs, it is the Paṭibhāga Nimitta.

10. E.g., a soldier, a judge, an executioner, etc.

11. For example, the image of a dead body or its parts would be Dukkha Sacca (The Noble Truth

of Suffering).

12. This means that one should keep to the “Middle Way”, avoiding the extremes of desire for

a pleasant nimitta and aversion from an unpleasant one. Also that one should not become

attached to a pleasant nimitta and then be sorry when it changes or goes. By seeing the ti-

lakkaṇa in all nimittas one remains detached and safe.

13. One is constantly examining and investigating the state of samādhi while it is present, and

this effectively prevents any nimittas arising.

14. This means that wherever one looks into the ti-lakkhaṇa and the five khandhas, one finds the

four Ariya Sacca.

15. This passage means that under the influence of avijjā, the citta has usurped the khandhas and

sabhāva dhammas and thinks of them as being its property. When avijjā is destroyed it seems

that all these are “goods which have been stolen”, and are not the property of the citta at all,

but are neutral, natural phenomena.

The Funeral Desana28 July, 1962—

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammāsambuddhassa

Aniccā Vata Sankhārā Uppādavayadhammino

Uppajitvā Niruijjhanti Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukhoti

if we have noT examined this verse by way of the fundamental principles of

truth we are liable to think of it as just a verse which is repeated every time there

is a funeral, whereas in fact it is like a shadow which follows us and reveals the

basic truths which are there in all beings and sankhāras.1

This verse may be essentially translated as follows:

‘All sankhāras are unstable; they arise and then die away. ‘The complete cessa-

tion of all sankhāras which are constantly arising and ceasing, when done finally,

is the greatest bliss.’

This verse says that ‘Sankhāra Dhammas’ are unstable (impermanent), that

having arisen they can then cease, and we can see that whatever types of sankhāras

are dangerous to everyone at this present time, and whatever types of sankhāras

are the cause of tears, of melancholy partings, of depression and sorrow, of good

cheer and rejoicing, of love and hate, and endless heartfelt anxieties and worries,

with regard to all of them the Lord Buddha taught, saying Aniccā Vata Sankhārā

(These sankhāras are unstable).

We should all take this to heart, for here in this present instance (at this funeral)

there is the principal witness and confirmation of it, letting us see it in a way that

we cannot deny. For here is the Venerable Chao Khun Dhammachedi who had

great virtue and great merit, who trained and taught people to know the differ-

ence between good and evil and to turn themselves into good people. In addition

he developed Wat Bodhisompon here, brought it to prosperity, and maintained it

for the last forty years as a place where Buddhists of all types may practise what


is good. But then death had to come and he went from the living to the dead. This

is what is meant be ‘all Sankhāra Dhammas are unstable, having arisen they then

break up and cease’—or as we say, they die—just that!

For this reason all of you should realise that his Sankhāra Dhammas and ours

are Sankhāra Dhammas of the same kind. They have been born, and have arisen as

a form (rūpa), a body (kāya), as a woman or man, and gradually a natural process

of change takes place from the time of birth, for they become children, then young

men or women, and then elderly and old; and when then changes in their natures

have reached their limits, they display the phenomena of breaking up and coming

to an end, letting all of us see it and name is saying ‘Dead’. We are speaking of this

type of Sankhāra Dhamma only, for we must not think that just any type of Sankhāra

Dhammas, such as those which are assumed to be natural things, are the causes of

endless tears of all beings throughout the world, for it is only Sankhāra Dhammas

of this type which is supremely important in the world.

Love, hate, melancholy partings, delusion, pleasure, sorrow and depression,

the whole lot come from just this kind of Sankhāra Dhammas, and so in regard to

them this verse is quoted, which comes from all the Buddhas of the past, all of

who taught that—Aniccā Vata Sankhāra—all sankhāras are unstable, having arisen

they come to an end and cease.

But it is not only those Sankhāra Dhammas which have already died that are

unstable—not only those that are here before us, dead, that have been born, grown

up and then died away. We ought to turn this towards ourselves, for each of our

bodies over which we rule as its owner here and now at this present time, is noth-

ing but this type of sankhāras, whose natures change in the same way. They become

old and senile, they cannot last long and they will inevitably be broken up and

destroyed in the same way as the Venerable Chao Khun Dhammachedi’s.

Love takes place in this type of sankhāras, hate and delusion also take place in

them, and they are the cause of gladness, of regret and of receiving dukkha and

T h e F u n e r a l D e s a n a 49

affliction. sankhāras of this type can be those of an animal or human being, they

can be of low or high class, they can be good or evil, and they can be those of the

average person, of the black or white or of the beautiful or ugly person—all of

them are Sankhāra Dhammas of this type.

May all of you who are listening ‘Opanayiko’—turn inwards—and constantly

teach yourselves. Don’t just think that other people die, that other people break

up and disintegrate, or that other people experience dukkha and hardship just be-

cause of the types of Sankhāra Dhammas which other people and animals have.

We must understand that this type of Sankhāra Dhammas are like our treading feet

which walk onward step by step.

Of all the types of Sankhāra Dhammas which have come into existence in the

world, none are as important as those which make up the bodies of animals and

people and which have the nature of breaking up and disintegrating and follow-

ing this course since past ages, and then coming to birth and being born again.

In this way we ourselves have also been born, grown old, sick and died, time

after time since past ages due to this type of Sankhāra Dhammas. We have loved and

hated, and shed tears and also lost the strength of body and mind countless times

already, due to this type of Sankhāra Dhammas, and we are unable to know our past

lives. This is avijjā the ignorance we make for ourselves, letting it wrap round and

cover the citta and preventing it from knowing the past, and making it go round

and round, changing again and coming here, going after becoming and birth and

being under the sway of good and evil tendencies. Being born and having a body

sometimes appearing as an animal, sometimes as a human being, sometimes as

a high person, sometimes low, and at times being thrown into prison and experi-

encing dukkha and hardship, and then becoming the son of a deva, a devatā, Indra

or Brahma and then changing and altering and becoming a human being again.

Being all confused and mixed up all the time—by virtue of avijjā—one’s deluded


self. And this is the way that every one of us has gone, but we are unable to esti-

mate the wherefore of our past lives.

All the foregoing is the story of the Sankhāra Dhammas. So we should use

‘Yoniso’—which means wisdom, to investigate in accordance with the principles

of true Dhamma that are proclaiming themselves everywhere throughout all the

realms of existence (loka dhātus), for they can never have time to be clam and qui-

eten down. In other words, birth, old age, sickness and death are there in both ani-

mals and people, outside and inside out homes, in the countryside and the town,

under water and on the ground, under the earth and in the air. Wherever beings

and sankhāras dwell these natural processes are bound to be shadows yoked to

them, and attached to them, and following this type of sankhāras around. But they

have not yet come to what is ours and so we are not interested in such things, nor

whether it will be like this with us—or not.

When people or things have a relationship with us we feel that we own them

in so far as we have our side of the relationship with these types of beings and

sankhāras, and therefore birth, old age, sickness and death are seen with the great-

est impact in our own homes and families. In other words our father, mother,

brothers, sisters, children, nephews, relatives, friends, husband or wife, are sick,

feel dukkha and are parted from each other. But when we have looked into the

ways of nature we will see that these things are making themselves known all the

time, and whether a Lord Buddha comes to be in the world or not, nature, or in

other words, birth and death, and being separated, which is the lot of beings and

these sankhāras, is something which has been there since ages past—this is the way

of it.

We have all seen this today for it is there in the urn of the Venerable Chao Khun

Dhammachedi which is just the urn of a dead person. He has died and has at-

tained the honour of being put into an urn. But for us how will it be? Whether put

in an urn or not, when life is ended it is just said that a person dies, or an animal


dies. They are there even in fish paste and in fish sauce, for these are just beings

that are dead, and even the market is full of live and dead animals, in fact it is the

graveyard of beings from all over the country.

If we investigate this story of life and death, we will—‘Opanayiko’—go inward-

ly—to investigate those sankhāras with which we are at present living and main-

taining and looking after, and see without doubt that they are of the same type as

those of beings and sankhāras everywhere.

Because of this, the words Aniccā Vata Sankhāra are most seemly and suitable to

the time and place. The ‘place’ refers to the world which is replete with births, old

age, dukkha, afflictions and also replete with destruction, death and partings from

beings and sankhāras. This is what we call the ‘place’. Dhamma then shows us the

track down into these conditions which are in a constant state of change, uncer-

tainty, disintegration and cessation—or uprising and then disintegration and ces-

sation, which is constantly happening to everyone. Furthermore this saying which

the Lord Buddha spoke is appropriate at all times and in all ages, not only today

and tomorrow but throughout aeons of time. For we should realise that while

there are these unstable, changeable beings and sankhāras, these words which the

Lord Buddha revealed are still true and will always remain so—and they are the

‘Svākkhāta Dhamma’ which he taught appropriately in accordance with the prin-

ciples of truth as they really are.

A person who contemplates the Sankhāra Dhammas and sees that they are

unstable, dukkha, anattā, and things which disintegrate and end, in which there

cannot be found even the least part of any ‘real essence’2 will then have obtained

something of the ‘real essence’ to make him not negligent in his own sankhāras

which, whether those of a child, a youth, a middle aged or an old person, are a

mass of things which will disintegrate and come to an end just the same. Because

all of them are sankhāras of the same kind, for a child is only sankhāras, a young


man or girl is just sankhāras, and a middle aged, elderly or very old person are also

just sankhāras, all of the same kind.

Sankhāras of this kind are pregnant with the latent tendency of disintegration,

decomposition and destruction which has always been the case on this earth, this

being the common dwelling place for the work of people and animals. It cannot

be said when sankhāras of this kind started their process of changing and retrans-

forming themselves, for there are natural processes of change which are trans-

forming them the whole time.

If all of us contemplated with consistency in this way, it would lead to the aris-

ing of ‘skilful means’ in our hearts such that—All things being unstable, we would

search for something which is more stable than these things; All things being

dukkha, we would search for something which is more sukha than these things; All

things being anattā, we would search for something which is attā, which is more

genuine and true than these things which come from natural things, which are

themselves just sankhāras.

If we are thoughtful people we will be able to obtain value from these things

which are not the ‘real essence’ so that what is the ‘real essence’ will develop in

our hearts.

The Lord said: ‘Aniccā Vata Sankhāra’, but we must not think that the sankhāras

which have died and one which we may have seen or heard about are the only

ones of that nature. For we should realise ‘that nature’ which we see and hear

tight now is ourselves! In other words, the Sankhāra Dhammas of those who have

died and of ourselves are of the same kind. They follow the same track, go in

the same direction and they all equally move towards destruction and cessation,

until ultimately they reach their limit—which is ‘Death’. When they are dead, the

‘citta which does not die’ must go and be born again as uprising sankhāras. But

the sankhāras which arise born from the citta which lived that life will be sankhāras


which, whatever their characteristics, will be dependent on the kamma of their

owner.

The word ‘Kamma’ in this context has the meaning of ‘doing’ action. Doing

good is ‘Kusala Kamma’, doing evil is ‘Akusala Kamma’, and doing neutral actions is

‘Avākata Kamma’—neither of merit not demerit. The person who does these forms

of kamma is the owner of his kamma and it is he who is responsible for his own

good or evil and sukha or dukkha. Thus each one of you should realise that you are

the owner of your kamma, and you are the one who is responsible for the good or

evil and sukha or dukkha of your kamma, which you have done in absolutely every

case.

Because of this all of us have differences even though we have been born with

human forms which have been given the name ‘people’—and in so far as we are

all people we are the same—but out characteristics, demeanour, habits, behaviour,

knowledge, skill, the strength of good tendencies, stupidity and lack of wisdom,

and wealth and prosperity are all different. Even living in the same place, the same

house or town the lives of people differ so that they variously have a lot or little of

sukha or dukkha and they have all sorts of different degrees of stupidity and clever-

ness in all sorts of different ways. The Lord called this the fruit of kamma showing

up, which has come from kamma that one has done in some place, on some day of

some month of some year and in some life. It was bound to become manifest to

the citta of the one who did it, and the one who did it is bound to be the owner of

the kamma, and having done it, the ‘Fruition’ of it, which is sukha, dukkha, good or

evil is bound to be his lot.

One has to accept sukha or dukkha accordingly, because one is oneself respon-

sible for one’s own kamma and this accords with the laws of nature. There is no

need for anyone to command us to be responsible for the results of the kamma that

we have done, and even if we want to go against it we cannot. We may for instance

have dukkha and physical hardships and our hearts may be full of anxiety and


troubled, and we may be starving and in want because of poverty, but it is impos-

sible to find anyone who will stand in our place and pay back the result of our

kamma, which is our own dukkha. It is bound to be our own burden and we are

bound to receive the fruits of our kamma, there is no alternative.

As for a person who is intelligent, clever and wealthy, who has never had much

illness, who has physical well-being and an easy heart, who when he thinks of

anything that he wants it comes to him as though the gods sent it, and wherever

he goes people look after him with care and respect and venerate him, and he has

noble rank, status, titles and servants and plenty of wealth. But in the same way

he cannot let anyone else be the recipient of this burden of good fortune, for each

of us is bound tot be responsible for the results of his own good kamma. This is the

way of kamma, and the owner of good kamma is the ‘heart that knows’.

Therefore the heart that rules over this body is what matters, and it is also what

matters both in the ways of the world and of Dhamma. So we ought not to be care-

less about our hearts but try to train them in the way of good until it becomes ha-

bitual. “The way of good” means, in the worldly sense, that we make ourselves to

be good citizens—and in the sense of Dhamma that we have the highest intention

to go further in the essential meaning 3 in Dhamma and in good (skilful) action.

This is the way of training our characters so as to become accustomed to virtue,

until the habit becomes fixed in our hearts.

When our characters have been trained in “the way of good” until they have

become apparent in the heart, which is the owner and the one responsible for it, is

the result that comes from all the good things that we have done. Whatever things

we wish for, we then get as we hope to, because these things that we hope to get

are the wealth of the actions which we negate the results of them. This is like the

time when we were pupils at school, where we learnt our knowledge, but would

hardly be able to remember how we learnt it on every occasion from the day we

first went to school. On any one day how many subjects were we taught and how


much knowledge did we learn, from how many teachers, how many subjects di-

vided up in how many ways, and from which school? At the beginning we learnt

the alphabet, arithmetic and so on until we absorbed all the knowledge that we

are filled with at present. We learnt for how many days? On any one day how

much knowledge did we absorb from our teachers? None of us can know these

things about our knowledge even though we were the ones who learnt it. But we

also cannot deny that we have this knowledge—thus for example, let us think of

the letter ‘A’ and immediately it comes to mind. Think of the letter ‘B’, and the

letter ‘C’ and they immediately come to mind. Think of the alphabet and numer-

als from ‘1’ onwards, and all of the theory we have learnt; as soon as we turn our

thoughts to any part of it, immediately it comes to mind. But we will probably not

be able to remember even the name or the voice of the teacher who taught us this

theory and knowledge—and from how many teachers did we receive teaching;

how many schools; how much theory?

Being able to remember is not important, but we can hardly deny that all the

knowledge we learnt from our teachers is stored there now in our hearts so that

whatever we think about appears to us as we want it.

The merit and virtue which we have built up is similar to this, for we do not

have to remember all the details of the good and virtuous things that we have

done, or how many times we did them, or in how many lives and realms of be-

coming we have trained our characters. For the ‘fruit’ which becomes apparent is

bound to be there in our hearts in the same way as the knowledge we learnt from

out teachers.

Here an explanation will be given of the principles of kamma—which is the sub-

stance of Vaṭṭa (the Round) and we will come back to an explanation of Vaṭacakra

(the Wheel) which is the heart that goes about initiating rūpa and nāma.

When we die after having built up a lot of merit and virtue, we will be born in a

good environment, an elegant way, and the things which come to us as our wealth


will all be things which are desirable to us—can this depends upon good kamma.

Even though we cannot remember the king of good kamma, nor the day or time we

did it nor how many times, it makes no difference. It only matters that the things

which have come to us, of which we are the owner are all good—such as children,

wife, husband, grandchildren and all our relatives and the friends with whom we

associate are all only good people. In fact, whoever comes into association with

us, whether near or far will only be good people. As to our wealth, property, de-

pendent people and servants who come under out authority, they will all be good,

and all this comes from our good kamma.

If however, we have done evil, bad kamma, it is similar in that whether or not we

are able to assess how much or little we have done, it is still bound to make itself

apparent to us within ourselves alone. Whatever belongs to us becomes bad and

spoilt. One sees a woman (or a man as the case may be respectively), and when

she is the daughter of her parents, one likes her and feels that she is a good person.

But if she comes to be one’s wife, then she becomes nothing but an enemy; and

even one’s children who are born as though from one’s own heart are no good.

When ladies or gentlemen of good upbringing associate with us they become bad

people by going along with us. When wealth of every kind belongs to other it is

good, but when it is handed onto us it all goes wrong and bad. The whole of this

is all because of the evil which is within ourselves.

The main principle here is that the owner or the one who is responsible is we

ourselves who have done the evil. So everything which is handed down to us and

becomes ours turns bad to accord with what we are. We cannot then turn and

blame the external things saying they are no good when the owner of them is evil

and they change into evil things to accord with their owner. And the owner means

the heart who acts, the heart who rules over the body where it dwells, which

means that the whole of oneself is evil.


This is the story of kamma, and this explains kamma, the principle which we use

in the process of going round and round changing and altering through birth, old

age, pain and death over and over again.

Having reached some situation in this round when we have endeavoured to

train ourselves in merit and virtue, which is good kamma, and to accumulate it

until our characters have become used to the way of virtue we will be like one

of several people who are going along a road to various destinations. Someone

who has wealth and possessions which are like gifts from the gods will probably

travel in physical comfort, ease and convenience with his heart relaxed and easy.

He rides in a car and wherever he stops to rest he has a house to rest in, or a hotel,

and there is a store in the market where he can conveniently but what he wants

with his own money. But someone who has little wealth and possessions, or none

at all, walks in the heat of the sun all day long until he almost dies and he has

little money to feed himself. When he rests he has to rely on the shade of a tree,

lie down on the bare earth and eat food sitting on the grass. He has no roof, cover

or shelter, mosquitoes bite him, insects fly around him and when it rains or the

sun shines he has to accept it as his lot—and it takes him a long time to reach his

destination.

The ways that these two travel are quite different, and even if they go along the

same route, they respectively go fast and slow, and the convenience or hardship

are similarly different because the mode of going onwards differs with these two

types of people.

The person who was previously mentioned as being the prosperous type who

has plenty of wealth and possessions will find it easy and convenient wherever he

goes, as though he had a mistress to sing soothingly to him and to look after him.

He has assistants and servants to attend to his wants all along the way until he

reaches his destination, because money and valuables are the power and influence

that come from the owner himself who has been able to get them by means of the


right Dhamma—which then becomes happiness for himself. But the latter type of

person must put up with difficulties wherever he goes. He lacks things on the way,

he is poor and needy and he has neither physical comfort nor ease of heart. Even

when he reaches his destination he cannot find anywhere to rest and stay and it is

altogether difficult and uncomfortable.

Our travelling on in the ‘Wheel of Saṁsāra’ is of the same nature, for some

people are born here and never see happiness and prosperity. They see only

dukkha, poverty and want, they live from hand to mouth and have too little to

eat, they are hard up, in difficulties and destitute; they are without money and

are mentally dull. They search daily for food and should be able to get enough to

eat—but they don’t. In two or three days they have difficulty to get enough to fill

their stomachs for even one day even though in this world things are not lacking

for they are plentiful here with markets and shops selling things everywhere. But

they cannot think of a way to get hold of this wealth of things for they have noth-

ing to exchange as barter and they have no money to buy with. In the end they just

have to accept and put up with the hunger in their stomachs and with lying down

on the bare ground—and we can see as many as we want.

In the markets in this our town of Udon, there are both those who have plenty

and those who are poor—the latter lying down on the side of the road, some with-

out even a coat to cover them, and even their trousers make up with numerous

pieces of cloth patched and darned together and full of tears and ragged edges.

They are like this because poverty compels them to be so. Having looked at them

we feel pity for they who have reached such a state, for they are basically human

beings in the same way as other.

As for the very wealthy whose money is reckoned in millions, of whom there

are a lot in Udon, they are human beings in the same way, but why is there such

a great disparity in their social status? To begin with we cannot blame and find

fault with the poor, not praise the wealthy on this account alone, because they are


poor due to kamma and well of due to kamma respectively. kamma such as this also

dwells within ourselves in the same way.

If we want to turn ourselves into people such as those pitiful and disgusting

types, we must make that type of kamma and be that type of person. But if we

want to be well off we must endeavour to train and develop ourselves, to change

ourselves and turn ourselves into people who are strong in the ways of virtue,

who are resolute, energetic and diligent, who have the capacity to make special

efforts in every way that will bring about an increase of valuables and wealth,

Then we will become the latter type of person, the type who is good and wealthy

as described above.

Everything that one can do or get in this world derives from the activity of the

heart which is therefore the most important thing of all. It is this that explains the

process of wandering around in the ‘Round of Saṁsāra’ (Vaṭṭa Saṁsāra) which is

varied and different in accordance with the over-ruling tendencies of character

due to accumulated merit (Puññādhisambhāra).

Someone who has abilities due to these over-ruling tendencies of character

never has disorder and confusion wherever he goes and he always has a state of

well being. When he comes to be born into this world he has little dukkha and few

difficulties and he is able to reach the goal, the end of the road, which is the attain-

ment of freedom from dukkha.

Thus when the time came for out Lord Buddha to be born into the Ksatriya

line to become the King and rule over the city of Kapilavastu, there were no dif-

ficulties, nothing was lacking and all was entirely convenient and easy as regards

wealth, sensual pleasures, attendants, and in fact there was no obstacle to his get-

ting any material thing he wanted.

When he left home and became ordained, he practised the way of merit and

virtue, and he attained enlightenment and became the World Teacher. After

which, wherever he went there were always people, sons of devas, and devatās to


pay homage to him and always full of respect. To say that this was so because of

the authority and power of the Lord Buddha is wrong. On the contrary, it was be-

cause of the Lord’s virtue that it came about, and even when the Lord became the

Buddha it arose out of his merit and virtue.

In the same way, someone who has paññā, skill and cleverness, who carefully

investigates and considers things and trains his own heart, if he comes to be born

in the world of human beings will be a good person having sufficient livelihood,

enough to eat, the necessities of life, convenience of travelling about, a house to

live in and all the essential requisites of living and so on, including his wealth

both in terms of that which is living and that which is not. The former includes

children, wife, husband and friends, all of whom will be good people who are re-

spected, looked up to and in whom he can place confidence. All this comes about

because of the influence of good kamma.

While we are wandering in the Round of Saṁsāra, let us get physical well being

and an easy heart coming to us because of the influence and power of good kamma.

When the influence of the good tendencies in our characters is sufficient we will

then manifest Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho and we will be able to quell those sankhāras

which are replete with birth, old age, pain and death, and get rid of these four.

With regard to the words Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho, there are two ways in which

these sankhāras are quelled. Firstly there is the quelling of the ‘External Sankhāras’,

which are the sankhāras of this physical body. Secondly there is the quelling of the

‘Internal Sankhāras’, being the thinking and imagining of the heart (mind) that

takes place because of the over-ruling power of avijjā—which is delusion itself.

Even though we have been wandering though birth, old age, sickness and death

for incalculable ages and uncountable lives we have not yet been able to get away

from this ‘Round’ (Vaṭṭa). The Lord called this avijjā—delusion—in our own life or

existence, and in our knowledge.


We may have dukkha and hardship, or sukha. We may have known, see and met

with experiences until we have had enough, but we still do not know the way to

get free from this wheel of saṁsāra; so it is replete with sukha and dukkha all mixed

and tangled together. Like rice which has been mixed with a bran made from it

husks; it is not very tasty or good to eat. The world is mixed up with dukkha in a

similar way, for although it also has sukha it is a mixture of sukha associated with

dukkha.

The Lord therefore called this world Loka-Sankhāradhamma—which means—

Aniccā Vata Sankhāra—uncertain, changeable, fluctuating all the time.

At the time of birth everyone is cheerful and happy but at the time of death

they are sorrowful and depressed, and the cause of this is delusion in regard to

the sankhāras with which we are associated. Thus for example, when at first they

are born as a baby girl of boy: ‘Oh how beautiful is this child of ours, it is lovable

and delights our hearts. It is clever and careful, easy to speak to and teach, not

obstinate and does not disobey its father and mother who look after it’. Then

it happens to die and there is crying and weeping—and this is the delusion in

regard to sankhāras.

In things such as this if we have not thought carefully about all aspects of it we

will only be able to see the pleasant side without seeing the unpleasant side, This

shows that we have not looked into the matter in a properly reasoned way, which

is the true way. So finally trouble comes to us and the gladness which we got at

the beginning does not equal or compensate for the depression and sorrow at the

end of it.

Whenever we get anything that we want we feel pleasure to begin with, but

when that thing changes, becomes different, gets spoilt and goes to ruin, depres-

sion and sorrow arise, and the loss of it is felt much more deeply than the gain.

Because there is lack of reason in this, the gain and the loss are not equal. But a

person who is endowed with reason does not think in this way.


A person who is endowed with the principles of Dhamma will think and see

what gains come to him and know all aspects of what he loses and so he does not

become depressed or sorry. For when sankhāras of this kind manifest, one should

see that their shadow, which is their cessation, must follow them, and one day

sooner or later it is quite certain that these types of Sankhāra Dhammas will break

up, go to ruin an cease.

Even with other possessions which we gained and lose we should have a basis

of reason to back us up and enable us to diminish the gladness and sorrow so that

they are not overpowering.

The Sankhāras Dhammas which are the physical body come into being from the

internal sankhāras, and the internal sankhāras come into being from avijjā—which

is delusion itself.

When we are under training in sīla, samādhi, and paññā, until we have become

proficient and strong in them, we will surely be able to see the substance of the

‘Round’ (Vaṭṭa) which is going round and round associated with our hearts all the

time.

In trying to get our hearts to see the source of our own going round and round,

the Lord led the way saying firstly that we must try to give dāna, of whatever kind

it may be—such as the dāna of forgiving (abhaya dāna), or the dāna in which we

give goods and things. Whether much or little is not important, but it is important

to do so constantly, and this is the way or one of the tools we must use. Secondly

we must try to guard our sīla, whether much or little,4 with a wholehearted will-

ingness, and this is another of the tools which can cure the avijjā which is obscur-

ing the whole of our field. Thirdly, samādhi, which is a calm of heart, is the way

or another one of the tools that can cure the substance of the ‘Round’ (Vaṭṭa).

Fourthly, paññā, which is skill and wisdom, is graded from the basic levels tight

up to the highest and ultimate levels of paññā, and these are tools at each level

which can cure the whole field of avijjā.


When someone has sīla and samādhi, or dāna bhāvanā, sufficiently well devel-

oped, the ‘Round’ (Vaṭṭa) will have nowhere to hide in ambush for it cannot go

and hide in a mountain. Nor does it dwell in the bottom of hell with the Venerable

Devadatta, which would make it rather difficult to get at and cure. But it dwells

here associated with the hearts of each one of you, for we are the people who are

wandering on and we are also the people who come to birth, old age, sickness and

death.

There is nobody to be defeated by, nobody to defeat, and nobody to have the

advantage over anyone, for in regard to birth, death, disintegration, destruction,

and the parting and separation from beings and sankhāras, we all have equality in

our wandering on in the Round of Saṁsāra (Vaṭṭa Saṁsāra).

Why should we not be able to see this wheel which makes us go round and

round changing and altering all the time, causing us to be born and die over

and over with the consequent dukkha and hardship—going round and round like

this for kalpa, aeons? When paññā has the ability to investigate and examine pre-

cisely and to go in until it does see the citta which is the possessor of the ‘Wheel’

(Vaṭacakra) and brim full of avijjā turning us round and round—and sees it quite

clearly—then we will be able to destroy the citta which is the ‘Wheel’ and we can

do so by means of the overruling power of genuine paññā.

When paññā has been able to destroy the ‘Wheel’ (Vaṭacakra), that is the citta

which is avijjā entirely, then in regard to the words: Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho—the

quelling and cessation of these sankhāras—they will cease on their own. Like a tree

which has been pulled up by the roots, it is not necessary to destroy all the branch-

es, twigs, leaves, or even the trunk of the tree, for it is enough just to completely

uproot it, and then day by day every part of it will wither, weaken and die away.

What happens here is similar, for whether the sankhāras are those called ‘Rūpa

Sankhārā’, in other words the physical body, or the sankhāras within the citta which

think and imagine about the past or the future, or creating meritorious or demeri-


torious things in the present, they are all bound to die away. Because avijjā who is

chief of the ‘Wheel’ (Vaṭacakra) and the chief of these sankhāras which are the basis

of Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha), has been destroyed, brought to an end and dis-

persed entirely from the heart. There remains only ‘Buddho’ throughout it, which

just means the heart that is pure. This truly is called Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho—the

quelling and cessation of these sankhāras which are the source of Samudaya (the

origin of Dukkha) have been brought to an end due to the supremacy of paññā

which has unshakeable strength and ability to destroy avijjā—the bad and evil

one—until there is nothing left in the heart and so it becomes: Tesaṁ Vūpasamo

Sukho—the quelling and cessation of these sankhāras entirely leaves nothing to go

and build up dukkha and torment; nothing to go and build up dukkha, hardship,

gladness or sorrow any more.

Then even though the sankhāras which are the physical body still live their life,

those sankhāras of the type which are Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha), and which

are the deceivers of the citta, giving pleasure and dissatisfaction and originating

gladness, sorrow, dukkha and hardship have died away. As in a stove, when the

fuel has all been used up and the fire has gone out, if one then puts on more fuel

it makes no difference whether one adds a lot or a little, it just remains fuel and

cannot burn up as fire.

As for the heart, it can still be called the heart, but this heart has no fuel—that

is, no avijjā. The sankhāras that form those imaginations which arise are then en-

tirely Dhamma and whatever is thought about is also entirely Dhamma. As for

feeling (vedanā) there will be the experience of some dukkha in accordance with

the nature of the khandhas which still exist, but it will not cause the arising of any

infatuation or, ‘being possessed by’, at all. Viññāṇa—knowing the things which

come and contact the senses, then acknowledges them by way of Dhamma, and

not with delusion, nor acknowledging them in order that they may be causes

which give rise to dukkha, to Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha), and to the accumula-


tion of kilesas. So they have become mere khandhas which means khandhas without

any kilesas and taṇhā, and this the Lord called Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho.

Someone who has reached this sphere of Dhamma has reached what may be

called the land of freedom from dukkha, and even though he has the elements

and khandhas still living there is no trouble or turmoil within his heart, and this is

Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho all the time.

But the sankhāras in the five khandhas cannot be got rid of, for when the rūpa

khandha has still not broken up it must be used in the normal way. As with our

Lord Buddha, after he had attained enlightenment, he still depended on these five

khandhas to be the tool for establishing Buddhism. In other words, he relied upon

his physical body to walk to various places to teach: he relied on his sankhāras

that made up the thought and imagination in his heart to explain and display

the Dhamma so that all would listen to him. He relied on saññā to remember

where various people lived, in which house and which town and whether they

were suited to receive the Dhamma of the Lord, and to what extent. He relied on

viññāṇa, the awareness to know that such people understand the Dhamma of the

Lord Buddha, and such do not understand, at times when he was answering ques-

tions or holding a conversation. Therefore these five khandhas were tools for estab-

lishing Buddhism, but they were no longer khandhas which gave rise to turbulence

and distraction to the Lord as they had previously done.

The khandhas which had at one time disturbed and troubled the Lord were

the khandhas that had avijjā ruling over them. They were the tools of avijjā so that

whenever it gave them orders to go in any way or direction, there they became

Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha), being in trouble and turmoil all the time. But

because these khandhas were overpowered and forced away from the grasp of the

great originator of dukkha—which is avijjā, the sankhāras which were subordinates

of avijjā came to an end—and this is called Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho—the quelling


and cessation of these sankhāras which was said by the Lord to be the greatest hap-

piness means this sphere of Dhamma alone.

With everyone of us, the sankhāras which are the basis of Samudaya (the origin

of Dukkha) create trouble and difficulty for us all the time, and this we know well

enough within our hearts. But when we have trained our hearts to attain calm

we will know this for ourselves until we come to the point where we have paññā

which is able to destroy the Kilesas and Āsavas, going in stage by stage from the

most gross to the subtle, to the more subtle until it reaches the most subtle and

there is nothing left in the heart. Even when only avijjā, who is the director of the

‘Wheel’ (Vaṭacakra), has been destroyed by paññā, there will be nothing left and

this turns into Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho the quelling of the sankhāras so that they are

subdued and peaceful.

When the sankhāras within the heart, which are there because of the over-ruling

power of avijjā, have died away and gone there is no more creating of new kinds of

sankhāras and the quelling and cessation of these sankhāras lasts for all time. Even

after leaving this body there is then no going on towards paṭisandhi anywhere and

we do not have to go to birth, old age, sickness and death anymore. This is like our

Lord Buddha who was able to destroy entirely those sankhāras that were baneful

and the cause of this wandering in the ‘Round’ (Vaṭṭa), because of which there was

nothing left to initiate any future births. This is sugato—his comings and goings

were good—and he led and taught all classes of people to their benefit.

When the time came for the life span of the Lord to come to an end, we call it

‘Parinibbāna’. He then abandoned these sankhāras letting the world pay homage

and pūja to them—or one can say that he abandoned them and let them go back to

earth, water, air, fire in accordance with nature.

But the true nature is the Vimuttibuddho of the Lord, which is the treasure of

the Lord alone, and this is called the treasure that is Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho which

is Dhamma throughout and is entirely pure without any admixture.


The Dhamma-desanā today has told about Sankhāra Dhammas. All of you who

are listening and have heard that Aniccā Vata Sankhārā will understand that it is

only quoted by rote, but the condition of nature which is implied, which is death,

is occurring all the time. On this present occasion there are death and change and

transformation going on continuously. Where we are, they die, at home they die,

in the forests, in the hills, in the wood, in water and on the ground they die, they

die all the time.

If the process of change were to make a loud noise like a gun going off each

time, all our eardrums would be shattered by the noise of these changes. The pro-

cess of breaking up and disintegration would become very loud and the dukkha

and hardship in each family and home would also become loud. From animals

experiencing dukkha, from those living in the water, or on the ground it would

become loud. Even we who are sitting listening to a desanā at this moment have

dukkha and from each one there would be a loud noise like the sound of guns—

loud with the story of the mass of dukkha. Our ear drums could not stand it if the

mass of dukkha displayed itself loudly to everyone in this way, and how should we

not then accept that Aniccā Vata Sankhārā for thus it is over and over again all the

time.

It is necessary to show the truth in such a way so that you who are listening

may examine and see that all these things when they occur do in fact make a

‘loud noise’ like this all the time—but they have no gun to give a signal to us at the

moment of dukkha, or when changes appear in beings and sankhāras of all types. So

it seems as though dukkha is only there in oneself alone, that trouble, distraction,

turbulence and difficulties are there only in oneself—and that to be in want, poor,

dull and bad are only in oneself, and it is as though the world of other people is all

gold. But in truth it is all the same world, the dhātus (four elements) and khandhas

are the same, the world of Aniccā Vata Sankhāra is the same, the heart is the same,

and it has dukkha in the same way.


I request that all of you who are listening here should examine this verse care-

fully which goes:

Aniccā Vata Sankhāra—all sankhāras both external and internal, of you and of

we, are unstable.

Uppādavayadhammino, Uppajitvā Niruijjhanti—having arisen, no matter where,

they break up altogether.

Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho—Let us try to bring about the quelling and cessation

of these ‘creators’, these sankhāras that are the basis of Samudaya (the origin of

Dukkha) so that they are completely and finally dispersed from our hearts. So

that resultant sankhāras which would be Aniccā Vata Sankhāra i.e. those sankhāras

which are born and die, will no longer become manifest in our hearts to cause us

anymore trouble.

This is called, reaching the peace of Dhamma (Santi Dhamma), calm and tran-

quil, in other words, supreme happiness (Parama Sukha) which is ‘Vimutti’ or

‘Nibbāna’.

In conclusion of this desanā, may the power of the merit of the Lord Buddha,

and also of the Dhamma and Sangha come and overshadow all of you who are fol-

lowers of Buddhism and who have made a special effort on this occasion to come

from your villages and homes to listen wholeheartedly to this Dhamma-desanā,

and may you always have physical well-being and ease of mind.

Having given this teaching concerning these words of Dhamma as taught by

the Lord Buddha, I feel that this is enough for the present and I now beg to bring

this talk to an end.

Evaṁ

Thus it is.

aspire4935

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Notes:

1. Sankhāras—The component parts of any object, thing, or being.

2. “Real essence” has the underlying meaning of “unchanging”, “unmoving”. The Thai word

is “Sāra-gairn-sarn”, Sāra being derived from the Pāli and having the above meaning.

3. “Essential meaning”—this is a translation of the Thai word “art” (Pāli = “attha”), which in

Thai has the meaning of “the purpose or objective”, “the cause”, the “Fruition”.

4. This refers to the 5, 8, 10, or 227 Sīla which we take for half-a-day, one day, several days,

weeks or the rest of our lives.

A Talk on DhammaWat Bodhisompon — Udon Thani

— 4 August, 1963 —


Aciraṁ vat’ayaṁ kāyo paṭhaviṁ adhisessati,

Chuḍḍho apeta-viññāṇo niratthaṁ va kaḷiṅgaraṁ

— Dhammapada : 41

“Before long it is certain that this body will lie stretched upon the ground, discarded,

devoid of viññāṇa, useless as a rotten log”

aT This Time i will give a talk on Dhamma (desanā) which is the teaching of the

Lord Buddha and which may be of value as “Dhammasavaṇānisaṁsa”1 to all of

you who are listening. So you should listen attentively to the teaching of the Lord

Buddha and you will attain benefit both while you are listening as well as in the

future.

Listening to Dhamma is necessary for all of us who are Buddhists because

Dhamma is full of reason. Whoever behaves and acts either in the way of the

world or in Dhamma, it is Dhamma that points out the way in both cases. Those

who go the way of the world are likely to need it as a method or the skilful ways

that they use in conducting their affairs so that they shall be right and harmonious

for themselves. As for those who practise the way of Dhamma it will make for con-

venience, ease and the avoidance of making mistakes. Because in doing anything,

if we do not listen attentively, so that we do not understand and know the method

to begin with, and act without having learnt about it, whether in the world or in

Dhamma, we are liable to make mistakes easily, and even if we get results they will

not be worthwhile.


Therefore all activities must depend upon our having first of all attentively

learned all about them. Learning is thus essential and is a “compass needle”

pointing out what way to go so as to get good results, for regardless of what sort

of activity or business we do, if we have not learnt about it so that it is well under-

stood it is not likely to be done well, and this is especially so in Buddhism.

So the Lord had the utmost interest in learning and it is said that he trained

himself for a long time in order to develop the Pāramī (the Perfections), and he also

trained all classes of Buddhists to know the way of good and evil so that they may

themselves go the right way.

Even though, as we are told, the Lord was the originator (sayambhū), knowing

and seeing by himself without relying on a teacher, he still had to go away to be

ordained and to learn from the ways of nature which surrounded him and which

drew his attention, until he felt sorrowful and depressed and could put up with it

no longer. Thus the capacity to learn by being observant or interested in reason-

ing, were forms of learning that were intrinsically in him already.

The Lord went out and was ordained becoming like a beggar. He diligently ap-

plied himself to practice, and to the development of meditation (bhāvanā) getting

rid of the conceited opinion (diṭṭhi-māna) of being a noble and making himself to

be like a beggar. He performed the spiritual practices of a monk (Samaṇa Dhamma),

living in the forests and hills so that anyone seeing him would not recognise who

he was—for they would just see that this was a bald-headed monk.

It may seem that the Lord did not learn from anyone, but in truth teachers

taught him everywhere and all the time by day and night. The Lord looked and

saw leaves falling from the trees and he reflected on how when grow they begin

as tender shoots, after which their form steadily changes until they become old

and fall, and how our lives and sankhāras are like those of the leaves, and there are

many other things which are like the leaves which fall from the trees.

A T a l k o n D h a m m a 75

The Lord investigated making comparisons, and reasoning both externally

and internally using his wisdom so as to find out clearly about the truth, because

external and internal things have the same characteristics. In other words, they

arise, they change and finally they break up and cease to exist. When the Lord’s

investigation reached himself, he found that he had the same characteristics, and

this is what is meant by saying that the Lord listened to the whole of Dhamma—

which are the ways of nature—while he was living alone in the forest. But even

before the Lord had left home to become ordained it seems that he received the

highest training in the ways of nature,

On the night when the Lord left home to become ordained it is said that he

saw all the concubines, minstrels and entertainers in the palace seeming as if they

were dead and as though it was a cemetery of corpses. It even seemed to him that

the Lord himself was also of that nature, and so he had a sense of urgency in his

heart to find a place of refuge.

“The attendants and the royal palace where we have dwelt from the day of

our birth until now has seemed to be a gay and light-hearted place, but now in

whatever direction we turn it all seems to be like a cemetery of corpses. We cannot

even know when this palace will fall down and be destroyed”. Then examining

reflectively within himself: “Those things which are sankhāras make up our bodies

which are constructed out of earth, water, air and fire, thus forming an animal, a

person, man or women. All of them must therefore have the same characteristics

as all the forms of nature which we see now. It seems that nowhere is there any-

thing that is stable and enduring which is suitable as a refuge and a shelter where

our heart would be at peace”.

He could see only one way. To go away and be ordained so as to search for a

quiet place in solitude so that he could diligently examine the underlying prin-

ciples. In other words, to become quite clear in regard to that impression of a cem-


etery of corpses which the Lord saw on that night. He compared himself with all

his attendants and saw that he was the same as them.

“As regards birth we have the same nature as them, as regards old age we have

the same nature as them; as regards suffering (dukkha) and bodily hardships we

have the same nature as them”.

Examining outside beyond the palace, throughout the whole earth—through-

out the whole universe—he saw that it was all of this nature and that there is no

island or mountain where one can find peace, where one can find security and

stability and where one can have complete confidence—but that: “It is all subject

to destruction and dissolution in the same way as ourself”.

Thus was the heart of the Lord obsessed with the idea of becoming ordained

so as to examine birth, old age, sickness and death carefully and reflectively to

understand them absolutely clearly in his heart—until he in fact went away to be

ordained.

This shows that the Lord learnt the ways of nature which are to be seen every-

where, they were of value to him and they led to his feeling sorrow and heavy-

heartedness at the fact of birth, old age, sickness and death that are to be seen

everywhere throughout the realms of saṁsāra both in ourselves, other people and

animals of all classes and types. Whenever a bodily form appears and is estab-

lished, the process of natural changes is bound to be the shadow which follows

such a body, and this is the first lesson which the Lord learnt using reason as the

basis for comparing himself with others (people and animals) who had identical

characteristics. These characteristics are those of “anicca”, the natural process of

change which was found throughout him and them, and “dukkha”, the distress in

this world—which is not a world full of happiness but a world of turmoil.

“Who can live at ease? Nobody can when they have a physical body, which

means that such a body is bound to be of a nature that leads to unbearable anxiety.

We cannot just live at ease without sleeping, lying down, eating food, walking


back and forth and changing our postures. We cannot not do these things. So if

this is the case we cannot live in this world. In other words, when I cannot not

“do”, it means that this world is a world of cannot and to live in ease and content-

ment here is not possible. Nor is it possible to sit, lie down and have no need to

eat or sleep, for one cannot just do what is easy for the body and pleasant for the

mind”.

So this world became entirely a world of ‘cannot’ in the heart of the Lord.

“What world is there that is a ‘world’ of can?” So he investigated reviewing and

searching with reason. “There is only the Lokuttara Dhamma”. In other words, that

Dhamma which when a person has attained it enables him to go entirely beyond

the world of cannot and reach the “world of can”, the world of attainment and the

world of certainty, is the Lokuttara Dhamma which is the highest Dhamma.

Then the Lord resolved to leave his home that night. But even though he knew

that he was a Prince and that he had loyal supporters throughout the whole coun-

try who were in the shadow of his own perfection, he left on his own, followed

only by Channa to lead his horse Kanthaka back. He left in order to investigate the

fundamental reasons of what he had seen that night until it all became absolutely

clear to him.

In brief, the Lord worked, training for six years and he almost died, because

when the Prince left home and became ordained he was prepared to risk his life,

for he had never before had to put up with difficulties. In saying that he was a

‘Prince’, everything about him was that of a Prince, all his possessions were those

of a Prince, the food he ate was that of a Prince, and where he dwelt and every-

thing he used of all kinds were those of a Prince.

When the Lord left home and was ordained he had become a beggar and his

status as a Prince had disappeared. All that remained was a poor man, or a beggar,

without anything that was of any value at all, for his belongings, dwelling place

and everything else had become those of a beggar and he had not a thing left of


the former Prince. Then he endeavoured to discard the conceit of being a Prince

until it left him entirely and there remained just a beggar, the same as any other

beggar that we may see. But it turned out to be a way of life which was pleasant for

the Lord and suited him, and it was also a suitable basis to enable him to become

the “Teacher of the World”.

Then he investigated the principles of birth, old age, suffering and death, which

are the “world of cannot”, the world which cannot endure, the world which whirls

around changing in this way, changing in that way, excited about old things, ex-

cited about new things, and this kind of thing is what is called “Lokavaṭacakra” (the

whirling round of the world).

When the Buddha had investigated this world until it had become quite clear,

he saw that his heart was also full of this world. In other words, his mental ac-

tivities (Cetasika Dhamma) displayed instability, whirling about changing: becom-

ing good, becoming evil, going into the past or future, forming together going

back and forth. His seeing clearly with paññā in this way is called “Paccayākāra” or

“Paṭiccasamuppāda” (Dependent Origination), precisely investigating the arising

and ceasing of sankhāras both of self and of others throughout the whole universe

(lokadhātu) and seeing that everywhere it has the characteristics of the Ti-lakkhaṇa.

In other words, “anicca” throughout the universe, starting from oneself and going

out; “dukkha”—all have dukkha in the same way; “anattā”—having died, anyone

who wants to take anything from this world to the next one cannot. Ultimately

even a single hair which is the lightest thing and being attached to this body goes

wherever we go, but when we have left this world we must submit to its being

returned to its original source—which is earth, water, air, fire. What remains is

the heart and the things which are hidden there, these being the good and the evil

which one has accumulated in one’s lifetime. Both of these natures are “shadows”

following us.


When the Lord had come to know the foregoing, he again considered that:

“Demerit is evil and this is a thing that may be clearly seen, but to where will

merit, which is good, follow us?” So he investigated merit and demerit again to

see them clearly by way of the Paccayākāra which is called the Paṭiccasamuppāda,

searching inwardly until he reached Avijjā Paccayā Sankhāra,2 etc... The story of

birth originates from avijjā, being connected step by step branching out from

there, as a branch leads to a twig which leads to a leaf to a flower to a fruit, going

from the trunk outwards. Finally we get back to “samudaya hoti”3 which he called

the “origin of Avijjā”—the one to which they are all linked back and from which

they branch out in this way.

When the Lord investigated backwards and forwards until he saw clearly and

truly into avijjā that it has arisen from nature—which is the heart, then he investi-

gated precisely with paññā into the heart which is avijjā.

On the night of the full moon of the sixth month, the Lord saw with absolute

clarity and avijjā broke and dispersed from the heart of the Lord on that night. So

it seems that our Lord Buddha was Enlightened on this same night. After six years

all the questions about birth, old age, sickness and death and about the whirling

round and changeableness of the citta and all the dhātus and khandhas came to an

end on that night, and he knew clearly that “Buddho” which is “purity” had arisen

in the heart of the Lord. Buddho, freed from the kilesas, taṇhā and āsavas. Buddho

which is entirely pure. Buddho, the end of all worry. This may be called: gone

entirely free beyond this world of cannot—which changed and became the world

that was given the name of ‘Lokuttara Dhamma’—in other words Dhamma which

is above the mundane realm and which is free from the world of birth, old age,

sickness and death, and he was the first to do this.

When the Lord had become Enlightened on that night he had the intention to

teach others. But to begin with the Lord was discouraged from guiding and teach-

ing others for he saw that the Dhamma that he had known and seen was beyond


the capacity of people to be able to know and see who have kilesas as all of us have.

But when he investigated, comparing himself with other people he saw that he

was a human being the same as all other human beings in the world. What was

the reason that he had been able to know and see? He traced back his practice and

the stages through which he travelled, and he saw that when there is the practice

and the method for going on in the right direction, they must be causes which

readily enable one to reach the goal. So he had the intention to advise and teach

others, for he saw that all beings, if they are trained and taught in the right way,

will be able to know and see in the same way as himself. Therefore he decided in

his heart to advise and teach others gradually. And thus it was that the Lord was

his own teacher and taught himself to completion first, after which he was able to

be the Teacher, to teach the world to completion, gradually, right up to the present

day.

Therefore, today all of us who are Buddhists have made the effort to come and

increase our merit in this place which is associated with Venerable Chao Khun

Dhammachedī who died and whose body was put in a funeral urn; and you have

come to listen to a Dhamma-desanā and to accept the “Dhamma of sorrow” in that

the Venerable Chao Khun Dhammachedī and ourselves are composed of four ele-

ments—earth, water, air, fire—in the same way. As in the Pāli quotation at the be-

ginning of this desanā: Aciraṁ vat’ayaṁ kāyo—the body is not a stable lasting thing.

As with the Venerable Chao Khun’s: Paṭhaviṁ adhisessati chuḍḍho apeta-viññāṇo—

however it is, it must lie on the ground when consciousness had departed from it.

This shows to all of us that we should contemplate he who has died and make

comparison with we who are still living. In what ways are there differences? They

are different in that one who has consciousness (viññāṇa) is still in charge of him-

self, as against he whose consciousness has gone, of whom they just say “he is

dead”.


When consciousness has gone from ourselves, what will they then say of us?

We must go in the same way as the Venerable Chao Khun who shows the moral

for all of us at this present time. Therefore all of us who have come here have come

to accept the “Dhamma of sorrow”, which is the cause for us to think about our-

selves so that we shall not be careless and indolent in the performance of virtue,

which is a means to promote one’s heart so that it may in the future be born in a

good place. Then even if one is born as a human being, one will be a good person

who is clever, under the influence of good tendencies, having abilities and also

property, wealth, enjoyment and servants, that will come from the influence of

one’s own virtue. When one is dead there is an end to the doing of good and evil,

and then one will probably experience the fruits of the kamma that one has done.

At present, on this occasion it is not too late for any of us, for we are in a

suitable age and time which is called “Majjhima” (middle, median) in so far as

it concerns the practice of virtue, for we are able to behave in such ways as will

lead to development both in the world and in Dhamma by means of our own ac-

tions. When we die, we will from then on have lost the situation in which we are

able to do good and evil, and this the Lord compared to a log of firewood which

is useless—except that firewood can still be used to cook food, or in other ways,

whereas when we are dead we are no use, neither as fuel, nor to make charcoal,

nor as salted fish or fish sauce. So we say: dead men have no value, and they can

no longer practise the ways of virtue.

The Lord constantly said that: “Nibbānaṁ Paramaṁ Suññaṁ”—Nibbāna is the

Dhamma which is void of dukkha, danger and all kinds of faults and blemishes.

At the same time it is: “Nibbānaṁ Paramaṁ Sukhaṁ”—as soon as one is void of the

foregoing things a change takes place into the Dhamma of supreme happiness

(sukha). Which is superior to all forms of sukha in this world, and thus: “Konu hāso

kimānando niccaṁ pajjalitesati”4—therefore let all of us quickly follow the Tathāgata

now. Do not let yourselves be negligent and careless in your life and your citta


(heart), which is evident just in your breathing, for when your breathing finally

ceases, whether you are young or old or however else, it is just said that “you die”.

“Therefore do not let yourselves be negligent and careless with your breath,

for the fire of the kilesas and taṇhā is spreading and burning the hearts of those

who are careless. But those who are clever will gain freedom and go with us, the

Tathāgata free from the power of the kilesas to overtake us. You must hurry and

follow us the Tathāgata in the various methods of practice, in dāna (generosity), in

sīla, and in bhāvanā. You must examine your body and see it clearly; look at the

skin, the flesh, the whole body and see it clearly with paññā”.

The “skin” outside which we go and watch at the cinema,5 at the folk drama

and the theatre is “skin” which will increase craving, pride and conceit. From chil-

dren to adults it spoils people’s characters and it wastes a lot of money, because

they rarely gain any good moral teaching, and apart from this it generally leads to

people becoming too engrossed in them.

In looking at the skin, flesh, sinews, bones and all the other parts of our bodies,

which is the cinema within ourselves, there is no need to spend money, and ul-

timately it will arouse the “Dhamma of sorrow” which causes us to walk in the

footsteps of the Buddha with insight into the banefulness of this mass of dukkha,

of which he taught saying:

“Konu hāso kimānando niccaṁ pajjalitesati”—“Do not be too cheerful, gay and

joyful. Look at the body, old age, dotage, senility, its breaking up and destruction—

for its destruction will not take place anywhere but within yourself, and death

will take place just within yourself. Hurry and search for virtue, for even now the

sun has not yet gone down—in other words one is not yet dead. Hurry and follow

the Tathāgata now so that all of you will be safe. Then the fires of rāga, dosa and

moha will never again surround and scorch you, like us the Tathāgata, for we the

Tathāgata have been born for the last time and we have cut ourselves away from


friends and companions—in other words, from birth, old age, death and from all

worries and we need not come to the hard and turbulent world again”.

This is the Dhamma that was taught so that all of us Buddhists should know it

and be awake to it and not addicted to heedlessness, and this Dhamma teaching

that the Lord taught is always “Majjhima”—The Middle Way.

On any day or whenever someone does good, gives dāna, develops their medi-

tation (bhāvanā), guards their sīla, it is virtue the result of which is apparent at

all times. Let us follow the Tathāgata in this way, for this is the instruction of the

Lord Buddha which displays the story of that nature which is more excellent than

anything else in the world. In other words: “Nibbānaṁ Paramaṁ Suññaṁ”—which

means, Nibbāna is the Dhamma that is entirely void of all things. This means that

there is not even the least dukkha in Nibbāna. And further: “Nibbānaṁ Paramaṁ

Sukhaṁ”—there is no sukha which any of us have ever experienced in this world

to equal the sukha of Nibbāna.

And once again, “Apeta-viññāṇo niratthaṁ va kaḷiṅgaraṁ”:

“None of you should become enraptured and pleased with a ‘log of firewood’

which is going to break up and die away, nor with the breath which goes in and

out until it goes for good. You must follow us the Tathāgata in your routine duties,

in your practice, in giving dāna, in sīla, and in bhāvanā”.

Do not be indifferent and careless in your life and formations (Jīvitā-Sankhārā)

for such as they are dying all over the earth, and they are teachers teaching us.

Why then is everyone so heedless when they are showing us as though shouting

at us to hurry and develop ourselves so as to follow the Lord and attain free-

dom from those dangers which are the mass of dukkha that dwells in our bodies

and hearts (citta) and are burning round us all the time without letting up for a

moment.


The constituents of our bodies are always defying us and telling us that this

state is of such a nature as is bound to break up. If we should put it in normal

forms of speech, it is as though we were asked, “Do you yet know the mass of

dukkha which fills you?” At all times it shows its advantage and hold over us for if

we do not eat or lie down and sleep regularly these khandhas are bound to break

up and disperse, for they are things which cannot remain passive. So we must try

to humour and support them, we must look after and take care of them in their

four postures. These are the things that we must do for our bodies.

But in so far as revealing the whole of this Dhamma, you who are listening will

bring yourselves to do the practice and gain results and benefits for yourselves,

the amount depending on your ability, upon the strength of your sati and paññā,

on your own thoughts which are able to accord with the strength of your saddhā

and ability, and you are not liable to waste your effort.

Today I have commented upon: Aciraṁ vat’ayaṁ kāyo paṭhaviṁ adhisessati—re-

gardless of whose body—non-enduring is the story of repeated birth and death.

As for ourselves, if we reckon that we shall reach sixty or seventy years old, from

then to the day we die is not long—as though it is only an hour. Wasting time and

repeating birth, death and dukkha over and over again were troublesome things

for the wisest of men—which means the Lord Buddha. But even though we are

unable to do so as the Lord did, we should at least examine his example and make

a special effort to do the practice according to his teaching. This will be for our

development and prosperity both in this life and in future lives, and we will not

waste our time as human beings, which is the highest form of life and superior to

all other beings, who do not have the opportunity as we do, to be in control of the

“wealth” of being human at this time.

In conclusion of this may the power of the merit of the Lord Buddha as well as

the Dhamma and the Sangha overshadow all of you Buddhists who have made the


effort to come with willing hearts, and may you have bodily happiness and ease

of heart every day.

Having now given some explanations of the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha, this

would seem to be sufficient for the time being, so I beg leave to stop here.

Evaṁ

Thus it is.

aspire4935

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Notes:

1. Meaning Dhamma which brings profit.

2. Avijjā Paccayā Sankhāra—Ignorance is the condition (cause) of the sankhāras. This is the first

step of the “Dependent Origination” (Paṭiccasamuppāda) formula, which goes through the

remaining eleven steps ending with “old age, suffering and death”.

3. “The cause” (of avijjā). In the simile this may be taken as the preceding cause of the tree—

i.e., the seed. Also the fruit as the cause of the next tree.

4. “What mirth, what pleasure, where all is ever burning?”—Dhammapāda. V : 146.

5. This is a play on the word “skin”, the word for cinema in Thai being “skin hall”, derived

from the old shadow plays which used animal hide cut-outs in front of a lantern to throw

shadows on a screen.

The Development of Meditation

Mahamakut Buddhist University — Bangkok

Part 1

— 12 February, 1962 —


The purpose of This dhamma Talk (desanā) is to outline a method of practis-

ing the Dhamma so that those who wish may train their hearts (citta) to become

skilled in this method.

But to start things off on the right footing, while you listen to this Dhamma

talk, you should listen to it from your hearts in the way that I have told you in the

past, for this is an especially suitable occasion for all of you to learn how to train

your hearts—and to take a rest from the troublesome work of your cittas as well.

The citta does work here, there and everywhere without ever resting. In one’s

job or wherever else one may be working, one often has time for a rest. Despite

such a rest, the citta goes on working automatically and continuously goes round

and about oneself without ever stopping, and thus, one cannot at the same time

find happiness of heart. So this occasion is an opportunity for you to train your

hearts so as to make them rest and attain calm from time to time. As well, this

occasion is also a good opportunity by virtue of the fact that we have been born

into the right conditions—a rare and difficult thing to attain. As the Lord Buddha

once said:

Kicco Manussapaṭilābho

(Hard is it to attain the good fortune of a human life) 1


No other beings have the right opening and fortunate circumstances to attain the

human state to understand this Dhamma talk as a human being can. Nevertheless,

we are human beings and we now have the right conditions to do so. Thus, to un-

derstand this Dhamma talk is easy for us. But for beings who are unfortunately

not human, understanding this Dhamma talk is very hard for them. Therefore,

when we get a chance to hear a Dhamma talk such as this, we should not waste it.

Training the heart to attain happiness is the way that all the Buddhas of the

past have proclaimed as being the right and true one. If our hearts never have time

to rest and attain calm, they are fundamentally not different from the hearts of

animals. But when our hearts rest, relax and receive training, we shall be able to

see the faults of thinking and imagining—the faults of a turbulent heart. We will

thus come to see the value of a calm heart. If we can attain a state of calm, we will

have reached the first stage of Dhamma which will lead us steadily onwards—in

other words—we will have a firmly established faith (saddhā) in the principles of

kamma.

In listening to a talk on Dhamma, there is no need to go out and fix your at-

tention on anything external, such as upon the person who is delivering the talk.

Instead, you ought to fix your attention on your own heart while the talk is being

delivered; for when one sets one’s heart in a good and healthy state, controlling

the heart with mindfulness and simply letting a state of clear awareness remain

with it, the subject of the Dhamma talk—which will reveal much or little, deep

or shallow, or gross or subtle—is bound to enter and touch the heart which has

been established in this good state. The Dhamma talk will then lull and soothe

one’s heart so that it can attain a state of calm, and then, while one listens on, as-

pects of it will drop into one’s heart and enter one’s memory. These aspects of the

Dhamma talk then become part of oneself and they will lead one to put them into

practice in the future. But what particularly matters most is the calm heart one at-

tains while listening to Dhamma—this calm heart is very important.

T h e D e v e l o p m e n t o f M e d i t a t i o n 91

Regarding this word ‘calm’, some of you may not know what it means. Calm

and distraction are a pair of opposites. Distraction and turbulence arise from the

thinking and creative activity of the heart—a heart which is active in creating

thoughts connected with the past or future and with good or evil. All such cre-

ativity is the work that is done by the citta. When the heart stops doing such work,

it drops into a state of rest and dwells in this state where it becomes calm without

any activities of creative thought going on. When one’s heart is in this state while

one is listening to a Dhamma talk, one’s cognizance dwells on nothing but the

Dhamma talk. This is what is meant by ‘one’s heart attaining calm’.

Having attained such a state of calm, one’s heart becomes fresh, cool and strong;

and thus, when one’s heart is strong, one will be able to increase the energy and

well-being of one’s physical body, for the physical body belongs to the heart.

For the above reasons, the ‘Dhamma medicine’ is necessary both internally

and externally. Internally refers to the heart, which takes the remedy, which is the

‘Dhamma medicine’, and having done so it will come to understand the work-

ings of cause and effect. One will also know a state of calm and happiness within

one’s own citta; and in one’s heart one will increasingly come to see the suffering

(dukkha) which exists in one’s life. Externally refers to one’s own physical body

which will then attain happiness and ease.

This is what is meant by saying that “the Dhamma medicine is the remedy

for one’s heart”—and it is also the remedy for one’s own elements (dhātu) and

khandhas which, when one has taken the remedy, will have constant bodily happi-

ness and ease.

At the beginning of this talk it was said that, all of us have a good opportunity,

for we are human beings. We have also had the opportunity to meet the genuine

and true Buddha Sāsana. Other kinds of beings do not have the opportunity to

know what results arise from the doing of good and evil, nor how suffering and

happiness come about. They do not understand, nor do they have a chance to try


and correct those things which are evil, nor to practise and develop in themselves

those things which are virtuous, graceful and good. But we have the good fortune

to have become human beings, and thus we have the opportunity to know good

and evil, merit and demerit, and many other things which are worthy and unwor-

thy. For this reason we say that the human state is one of excellent good fortune.

Initially this state arises from doing work. In other words, working to do and

train oneself in those things which are virtuous, graceful and good; and also from

trying to amend the evil which one has done when delusion has been strong in

one’s citta.

Trying to do those things which are good so that they arise and grow within

oneself by way of one’s own bodily actions, speech and mind may be counted as

the first of one’s “good fortunes”. As one is also a human being in this life, one

receives the benefits of a human being accordingly.

The second of one’s “good fortunes” comes about when those things which

are good are accumulated and become habitual tendencies of one’s citta, so that

one continues to go on acting in this way in the future, thus causing one to remain

cool and happy due to virtue.

If in the present one does not try to train oneself, and to arouse and practise

these things so that they develop within oneself, one will waste the good fortune

of this life and the opportunity for the future.

Thus it is said: “Manussapaṭilābho” The human state is one of good fortune—

and initially this means being born as a human being. As to the second kind of

good fortune, it is very important and is a thing which all of us should practise

so that it arises and grows in each one of us. For if people who have attained the

human state, as in fact a vast number have, persist in doing bad and demeritorious

things, they will fall from the human state in the future, or they will become what

is called “Manussa tiracchāno”—human animals—who cannot be replete with Sīla

and Dhamma.


Therefore, “the human state is one of good fortune” may be taken to mean

that it is good fortune to attain the state of a good human being, a state with Sīla

and Dhamma, in which good and evil and what is beneficial and harmful are all

known. So that eventually one becomes able to get rid of the obstructing defile-

ments, both in the world and in Dhamma.

Obstructing defilements in the world, are those faults in one’s action or be-

haviour which are such that one’s actions of body, speech and mind lead to an

increase of trouble both for oneself and others, and this is so whether one under-

stands what one is doing or not. One should avoid and keep far away from doing

such a thing so that this becomes a habit, and one becomes accustomed to avoid-

ing evil and doing only what is good. Life will then become smooth and harmoni-

ous, which means that one overcomes the first group of obstructing defilements.

Obstructing defilements in Dhamma, means the āsavas and the kilesas which

tie down and oppress the heart and mind, and the person who avoids and keeps

far from doing evil steadily brings about their destruction. Such people are not

often met with, for they include such as the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas, who are

rare and worthy of the highest respect and reverence. But even apart from them,

the person who practises in this way will steadily gain in virtue and goodness.

Therefore all of us should practise these things so that we may become people

of the type who are rare. Thus, we come to the second quotation:

“Kiccaṁ maccāna jīvitaṁ”

(Hard is the life of mortal beings)

One has managed to overcome the obstructing difficulties of falling and death in

the past, so that one has reached one’s present human state; and this is one kind

of “good fortune” of one’s life (jīvita) and heart.


Here, it should be understood that one’s life and heart are not form (rūpa), nor

one’s body, nor one’s possessions (vatthu), but they are just one’s breath going in

and out.2

We normally think in terms of the body of a person, or in terms of being young

or old, but this way of thinking is not really true, for the important thing is that

there is just breathing going on. If the breath goes in and does not go out, a person

dies. If the breath goes out and does not go in, a person dies. A person dies and is

separated from those who are living. We see it everywhere. Animals die and ani-

mals live. People die and people live. Just go for a walk through the market place

and you will see the graveyard of animals; some living and some dead, scattered

around the place; and those that are living are there just so that they shall die. The

dead animals have gone from the live ones, but they are all together in the same

place.

When people die they may be buried or cremated and that place is called a

graveyard. But truly speaking everywhere is a graveyard. Even the place where

we are now sitting; for if beings are born then in time they will die and wherever

they die is a “graveyard”. There is nothing strange in this for the whole earth is a

graveyard, and there is nowhere that is not a graveyard of beings who die.

The living and the dead dwell together all the time, and if the dead are cremat-

ed in a Wat (monastery) as here in Bangkok, we say that they came to their “end”

in the Wat; for it is not possible to cremate them in the forest where it is customary

for the country people to cremate the dead in a place which truly is a graveyard.

In a Wat however, cremation is not given the name of “graveyard”, but is just called

“Meru”3 and Meru just means the graveyard for cremation.

If one contemplates these conditions, all of which are created or formed things

(Sankhāra Dhamma); and how the dead have departed from the living, it gives good

reason why one should not rest and take it easy in one’s life and heart, for those

who are still living are, as far as we are concerned here, only living so that they


shall also come to death. It tells one to do, to arouse and to develop one’s bodily

actions, speech and heart in those ways which will be of benefit to one’s heart and

fundamental nature. Therefore one ought not to rest and take it easy in life.

It was said above that virtue means “happiness”. This happiness can arise in

various ways by way of body and mind, and this is a thing which we all desire

and yearn for. As for suffering, if anyone experiences only the smallest amount,

they do not want it; and this is so even with animals. But it is beyond one’s power

to get rid of suffering completely.

When one has thought about and seen the way of life and death, and how the

living and the dead part from one another, one should not be indifferent to that

which is within one’s body—which is one’s life and heart—because it stays there

only while one is breathing. There is no instrument, like a thermometer, which

can measure it and tell that this person has so many more years to live and that

person having reached such an age will die after so many more years. Nor can

one say that because this person has a healthy body or is still young that he ought

not to die for a long time. It cannot be reckoned in this way, for it depends on the

breath, and whenever breathing stops, death takes place.

When dead, even if the body is kept at home and is not immediately cremated,

the dead person is called a “departed one” and has changed into a ghostly thing.4

Even if it was a child or grandchild, a relative, father or mother, grandfather or

grandmother, as soon as the life and citta leave the body, he or she changes im-

mediately into the ghost of that person. It makes one awed and afraid that such a

thing should come from a person when this body comes to its end.

Because of this, we who are living in “fire”, which means that we are living

in an environment with all sorts of things round us which can bring about the

destruction of this body, will try and search for the means and method to get out

of this “fire”, so that it cannot destroy us and so that we can live for a long time.


When a person is not indifferent to these things and has contemplated and

thought about life and death, which are insubstantial and fleeting, he will not

want them. When he has also grasped and seen the nature of death, of old age, dis-

solution, destruction and these changing conditions as above, it will become an

image (nimitta) rooted in his heart, always reminding his heart and mind. In this

way he will be able to train himself to gain benefit from these fleeting and insub-

stantial things. For nobody wants death; as was taught by the Lord Buddha when

he said: “Jātipi dukkhā, jarāpi dukkhā, maraṇampi dukkhaṁ…etc.” (Birth is suffering,

old age is suffering, death is suffering…etc.). This was the initial thing that the

Lord Buddha taught in his teaching of the Four Noble Truths (Ariya Sacca)—and

knowing this, who would want life and death?

Why then did the Lord Buddha teach in this way? He taught in this way be-

cause he did not want death to come to you. In other words, contemplating death

will lead you to not being careless and heedless. It will lead you to develop virtue

and goodness, which will be of real value to yourself, and to strive with urgency

while you are still alive. For when one’s life and citta have gone, one’s opportunity

has gone—and how can one then do these things?

One may do more or less training, but when one’s heart has come to the end

and one dies, it is all bound to stop. Then one gradually experiences the results

which come from the actions (kamma) which one has done in the past, and these

results are greater or smaller in accordance with the strength of the actions which

gave rise to them.

This is the reason for the second quotation: “Kicchaṁ maccāna jīvitaṁ” (Hard

is the life of mortal beings). For this life is a rare thing and hard to attain, which

means that it is rare to find a person whose life and citta are always virtuous,

graceful and good.

One should not be lazy and indifferent; and from day to day the least that one

can do is to develop reverence and to go through some of the Buddhist chants. Or


one can repeat the words “Buddho”, “Dhammo”, “Sangho”, or fix one’s attention on

one’s breathing when one lies down before going to sleep, for these are ways of

practising Dhamma which enter into one’s citta, so that when one goes to sleep

one will not have indecent dreams. Or if one should chance to die in one’s sleep,

it will lead one to a fortunate state (Sugato). In other words, one will go to a good

state by virtue of “Buddho”, “Dhammo”, “Sangho”. These are forms of Dhamma

which are good and which superintend one’s heart, leading it into good states.

Training one’s citta has results and benefits of the kind described above—and

this brings us to the end of this section and leads on to the third line of the verse.

“Kicchaṁ Saddhammasavaṇaṁ”

(It is hard to hear the good Dhamma)

This means that to listen to a Dhamma talk is a hard thing. It is hard for people in

this age who do not want to listen.

The Dhamma which was taught by the Lord Buddha has been proclaimed

for more than 2505 years, and in all its 84,000 parts (Dhammakkhandhā) it is not to

be found wanting in the ways of sīla, samādhi and paññā, for it is the “Svākkhāta

Dhamma” (Well Taught Dhamma) which the Lord Buddha taught well. Why then

do they say that it is difficult in this age?

In those ages when there is no Buddha, no Dhamma and nobody who can

explain, it is truly difficult and remains so throughout that age; but this is not the

case nowadays. It is just difficult for those who have no opportunity or no interest.

The world takes hold of the hearts of people, submerges them and inundates

them so that they have no time to listen; or in other words to reflect upon the way

that cause and effect works upon decrepitude and death, upon old age, and upon

the pain and suffering which is within their bodies and hearts; for all this is called

“Dhamma Talk”. They have no opportunity to listen to a talk given by a bhikkhu,


nor to reflect upon their own bodies, their existence and how they continue to fare

all the time.

Throughout the body there is no part which is not subject to old age, pain and

death and to final breaking up and disintegration. Its nature (sabhāva) changes in

every part and organ throughout.

This is the Dhamma which is difficult to listen to. Difficult because the hearts

of people are under the influence of the kilesas, taṇhā and āsavas, which are en-

tangled and bound tightly round their hearts, dragging them into places where

they ought not to go. If they oppose these things by the way of Dhamma their re-

sistance meets with difficulty and trouble. This then is a way in which it is difficult

for people to listen to Dhamma nowadays.

In this present age however, because it is an era in which the teaching of the

Buddha is still extant, one should try to oppose the tendencies of one’s heart and

look into, examine and contemplate the nature of existence and life; not externally,

for this would be difficult to do, but by contemplating and looking into oneself.

The Ariya Sacca (Noble Truths) will then well up and fill one’s body and heart,

and they will display their nature throughout the day and night and in all four

postures, whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down. Then there will be

just the Ariya Sacca alone, and these Ariya Sacca are the whole of the Dhamma

taught by the Lord Buddha.

All the Buddhas who have appeared in the past and who will appear in the

future say that “They are Buddha”, a world teacher. All the arahants who have

arisen say that they are the disciples (Sāvaka) of the Lord Buddha and that the

Buddhas and Sāvakas are the refuge (saraṇa) of us all. All the Buddhas and Sāvakas

contemplated these four Ariya Sacca Dhammas, which are to be found through-

out oneself, until they knew and saw themselves truly, as they were in their own

nature (Sabhāva Dhamma).


Prior to this, such things as birth, old age and death, which were the basic

things that their contemplations dwelt on, were considered as enemies. But af-

terwards they changed into friends and they changed into symbols of normality,

because they saw the truth that all these things are impersonal natural conditions

(Sabhāva Dhamma) and there is no fault or blame to be found in any of them, for

this is just their nature.

As long as one continues to go the round of saṁsāra, there continues to be birth,

old age, sickness and death. It is bound to be this way because these are the fruits

of the round of saṁsāra.

What does “going the round of saṁsāra” mean? However one searches one

can find no clue to it except by looking into one’s own heart, which alone is the

substance of the wheel of saṁsāra. Thus one may say that one’s own heart is the

wheel of saṁsāra.

Greed, hate and delusion (lobha, dosa and moha) are the basic things in saṁsāra,

but from where do they come? There is no greed, anger, delusion, love or hate in a

dead person, nor is there any envy and jealousy left to make him persecute others.

In fact there are no kilesas and taṇhā in a dead person, for these things arise only

in the sphere of the heart.

With regard to the word “arise” in the previous sentence, it means in one sense,

that the sphere of the heart has gone to birth in one of many possible situations

which is dependent upon the kamma of the individual concerned. This kamma

he formed in his past, and it forces his heart to go to an appropriate birth in that

particular situation.

When it appears in that situation, the corresponding bodily form will be that

of an animal or a human being accordingly. This is called the fruit of the round

of saṁsāra; and it demonstrates itself by giving rise to forms (rūpa), to bodies, to

women and men, and this is called birth.


When birth has taken place, there is no need to question further about old age,

for it is just the shadow or image which comes from the body and birth.

There is birth and death, and one has built a house for them. How then can

one drive out and dispel trouble and suffering from the house when one has once

built it? This, one’s own body is the house, it is the house of dukkha (suffering);

and the cause of this house coming into being is the builder (taṇhā), which comes

from the delusion of the world.

This delusion is the understanding that, time after time, when one has been

sick, grown old or died, it is still good to go on with life. It drives one on to con-

tinue with existence of this sort, and this is called the round of saṁsāra. This de-

lusion comes from the heart, and when it becomes apparent as birth, old age,

sickness and death it is known as the fruit of the wheel of saṁsāra, and it displays

itself everywhere.

One who is going to raise himself up to get free from all this dukkha must in-

vestigate this state of nature (sabhāva) which is to be found everywhere, and see

its nature little by little every day, contemplating it all the time—and this is called

“listening to Dhamma”.

One may hear the teaching that comes originally from the Lord Buddha by lis-

tening to a Dhamma talk given by a bhikkhu, or on the radio. Or one may “listen”

and reflect upon the way of causes and effects in one’s own existence, and in the

Dhamma which passes in front of one’s eyes and ears and which one may hear as

sounds both good and bad, sounds of weeping and laughter, of news that some-

one has died, is sick, has been buried here, or cremated there. All of it is nothing

but the Noble Truths (Ariya Sacca) in the form of Dhamma which comes from the

heart, and this is the whole nature of the round of saṁsāra.

After investigating and seeing the nature (sabhāva) of existence in this world

in a true and proper way, who would want to come and stay in this cauldron of

dukkha which is always “boiling hot”? Who can come into this world and live


in the “cool shade” happy and free? For the way of nature is not like this, but is

bound up with suffering as described above.

When investigating the afflictions of birth and dukkha, one must look at one’s

own dukkha, for if one does not see one’s own troubles one will not be able to see

the afflictions which arise from this dukkha, nor will one see the value in getting

free from it. Therefore the Buddha and Ariya Sāvaka (arahants) have always main-

tained that the Four Ariya Sacca are supreme in their religion. They are the way

for all beings, who follow all four of them, to ascend and reach the ultimate limit,

which is the supreme bliss of freedom (Vimutti) and Nibbāna; and freedom means

getting free from all those things which have been described above.

When the heart which is full of greed, anger and delusion is to be thoroughly

cleansed by means of paññā (wisdom), and is to be trained to come under the

power of virtue, gracefulness and goodness, it must start with the practise of dāna

(generosity), sīla (moral behaviour), and bhāvanā (meditation) and develop them

steadily until they become strong. Then the heart which is the wheel of saṁsāra,

full of avijjā, can be cut away and completely freed from avijjā—delusion—the

wheel of saṁsāra.5 It then changes and absolute knowledge arises which will never

again be indistinct or vague; and this is called Nibbāna.

One may use the name Nibbāna, or not, as one sees fit, but when one has

reached this point one will have knowledge, and this will be a true knowledge

concerned with the basis of nature. This knowledge is not special to those who

attain Nibbāna, for both people and animals, who have not attained Nibbāna, have

knowledge inherently within them which comes from the whole of the past and

which is able to know all things. For instance, the experience of a baby at the time

of birth, and what it comes to know and learn, such as sweet or salty tastes and

the name of these tastes. Nobody has the opportunity to learn all such things; and

again, when a baby drinks milk it must know the taste as sweet or sour or however

it happens to be. When it wants to eat food because it feels hungry, how does it let


us know? When it has had enough food, what does it do to let us know? If we then

try to give it more food it does not want it.

All this shows that knowledge in the basis of nature began to display itself to

let others know things from the time that one was a young baby, and this same

basic function is still there in all of us. For example, one may be given a cake that

comes from abroad and which one has never seen or heard of before, but as soon

as it comes into contact with one’s tongue, one’s tongue itself will know what it is

like and will assess its nature.

This is knowledge in the basis of nature; but it is knowledge at the ordinary

or common level. Dhamma as taught by the Lord Buddha is also knowledge con-

cerned with the basis of nature, and it is also to be found in each one of us.

I ask all of you please, just try and train yourselves to examine, investigate and

listen to the Dhamma which is within each of you. Your knowledge will then

gradually change into knowledge which is full of reason and concerned with

yourself, until it reaches the stage where you are able to raise yourself up to the

knowledge of nature which is beyond the common level, in the same way as the

Lord Buddha and all the Sāvakas. Thus, we come to the fourth quotation, which is:

“Kiccho Buddhānaṁ Uppādo”

(Hard is the uprising of the Buddhas)

Endeavouring to train oneself to investigate, research and listen to the Dhamma

Talk is a thing which is rarely practised by people. But when one does this, one

should try to develop it so that it arises easily, until one’s heart becomes absorbed

in listening to the Dhamma—Talk all the time, both externally and internally.

“Buddho” which is hard and difficult to meet with (as it says in the above passage

in Pāli) will then become manifest in one’s heart.

Buddho may be divided into three kinds, as follows:


1. “Buddho”—Means the Buddhas who arise in the world; but they only arise

very rarely and only one at a time. In this meaning it is rare and hard to meet

with.

2. “Buddho”—Means the arising of the pure (Parisuddhi) nature of all the Sāvakas

and this is also rare and hard to meet with.

3. “Buddho”—Meaning the “Buddha” of ordinary beings who are under the

influence of the kilesas; and this kind of Buddho is common and is not hard

to meet with.

How is this so with the third kind? It is so, because this “Buddha” is always super-

vised, covered up, oppressed and compelled by the kilesas, taṇhā and āsavas, which

will not let it show itself and be free.

When the citta or knowledge is of this kind, it is not able to get free and raise

itself out of the mud and mire of the kilesas, taṇhā and āsavas. How then can this

Buddha nature come to know the truth of all things, which is the way of cause and

effect in all Sabhāva Dhammas?

When this Buddha nature is going to examine, investigate, clean and correct its

state by training all the time in virtue, gracefulness and goodness, it is necessary

to start with, that one should be in a suitable social environment with a wise and

learned man (a Teacher) who is skilled in the ways of curing one’s self to enable

one to get free from one’s obstructing difficulties (upasagga), whether they be in-

ternal or external.

These are the necessary conditions to make one love and want virtue, grace-

fulness and goodness, and then to practise these things in accordance with one’s

ability, until one becomes able and skilled at them, or until one’s heart becomes

absorbed and satisfied in doing them. Then one reaches the state in which one

feels that if one were unable to practise dāna, sīla and mettā for one day, one could

not live.


One’s heart will then have attained an amply satisfying state which goes on

until it can examine and investigate, or “listen to” Dhamma automatically, all of

which takes place within one’s own body and heart, until it becomes quite clear

and lucid.

“Buddho” the nature which knows, and which is suppressed by the kilesas, will

then appear and gradually develop until it attains the utmost knowledge and skill.

One will then be able to extract and remove those things which are enemies from

one’s own heart entirely so that none remain. Then Buddho, of the type which is

rare and hard to find, and which is truly one’s own Buddho, will appear.

When one analyses this: “Buddho” of the Lord Buddha is one kind of Buddho.

“Dhammo” of the Lord Buddha is one kind of Dhammo, of which the Lord Buddha

is the owner. “Sangho”, as the third of this group, are the Sāvakā (true followers) of

the Lord Buddha, and it is his Sangha, or Sāvakā.

When one endeavours and tries to strive with diligence, by borrowing capital

from the Lord Buddha, which means that one brings the nature of “Buddha” into

one’s heart; by borrowing “Dhamma” which is the teaching of the Lord Buddha

that points out and tells one the way, which indicates how one should behave and

practise, and which, if one follows it, will become one’s own Dhamma; and also

by trying to borrow “Sangha” which is the level of practice of the Sāvakā from

Supaṭipanno onwards, and to make it the level of one’s own practice—then the

result of borrowing capital from the “Buddha”, “Dhamma” and “Sangha” is that

they become one’s own property; and in time one finds that one has a reserve

fund.

One is then able to establish them in oneself and one’s life until the pure

Buddha arises in one’s heart as “Buddha Vimutti”, which means the Buddha that

can be free from all mundane things.

The “Dhamma” which is strange and wonderful arises from the heart in this

state of purity, and it truly becomes one’s own Dhamma.


The “Sangha” is the one that upholds the pure and excellent Buddha and

Dhamma, or one may say: it is the owner of this excellent Buddha and Dhamma.

Then they change and become one’s own “Buddha”, “Dhamma” and “Sangha”.

This then is the practice of our religion, the practice which follows the way of

the Lord Buddha, the Dhamma which is the teaching of the Lord Buddha, and the

Sangha who are the followers (Sāvakā) of the Lord Buddha, which then become

one’s own properties. This is the value of the name which was given in the fourth

line of the verse, which is again:

“Kicco Buddhānaṁ Uppādo”

(Hard is the uprising of the Buddhas)

The arising of insight knowledge in every one of “those who know” is a hard and

rare thing. If one tries to develop this state so that the “one who knows” arises in

one’s heart, one will become “One who has properties of supreme value”.

Today this talk on Dhamma has been concerned with the following:

1. Kicco Manussapaṭilābho—in which we talked of the fact that to become a

human being is a rare and difficult thing; and that all of us are beings who

have been born into the mass of properties which is the human state.

2. Kicchaṁ Maccāna Jīvitaṁ—that we have lived from the beginning of this life

up to the present moment and that this is our good merit and fortune.

3. Kicchaṁ Saddhammasavaṇaṁ—that to hear the Dhamma is a rare and diffi-

cult thing. All of you here have heard the Dhamma on the occasion of this

desanā, and each one of you can train yourselves to examine and investigate

the sankhāra dhammas (Formed or created things) both externally and inter-

nally, which were said to be the conditions in various ways for hearing the

true and genuine Dhamma taught by the Lord Buddha. And in the final sec-

tion we said:


4. Kiccho Buddhānaṁ Uppādo—that the arising of insight knowledge occurs in

one who has purity of heart, which is freedom. Having got free from all the

kilesas, āsava and taṇhā, this state will then become one’s own property.

Therefore, I ask all of you who are listening to this Dhamma talk, please to devel-

op the practice of examining and investigating so that both the first three and the

fourth of the above sections of Dhamma shall enter you and become “Opanayiko”

(leading inward) bringing you results and benefits.

Furthermore, the above knowing and seeing for oneself is called “Sandiṭṭhiko”

(visibly apparent here and now) and is one meaning of that of that word, which

may occur at a low, middle or the highest level.

Sandiṭṭhiko begins to become manifest from the time that one starts to strive,

endeavour and practise dāna, the maintenance of sīla and the development of

bhāvanā. This is the Dhamma which one comes to know in one’s heart and it grad-

ually develops and increases.

One comes to know and see that previously one never used to practise dāna and

one had no saddhā (faith) or belief in Buddhism, nor in merit nor kamma. But now

one has belief and one knows in one’s heart that one has practised dāna, guard-

ing one’s sīla and the development of bhāvanā. This is “Sandiṭṭhiko” the seeing of

oneself by oneself.

Furthermore, one trains oneself in bhāvanā, controlling one’s heart and making

it dwell in subjection, restraining it with mindfulness, meditating with wisdom

and making it remain with awareness on a single object of such a type that calm

increases and happiness gradually develops. This is another type of “Sandiṭṭhiko”

which appears to oneself.

This continues until one has knowledge and skill and is able to cure one’s heart

and free it from all things in one’s surrounding environment. This is the highest


form of “Sandiṭṭhiko” that can arise in one’s heart and it comes as a result of the

practice of Dhamma.

One should let things enter through one’s senses all the time and make them

“Opanayiko” (Leading inwards). The sights and sounds which one sees and hears

are either good or bad, so let them enter, and by diligently examining and investi-

gating them one will learn from them. One can then attain beneficial results from

the things which enter one’s senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

By doing this one will not waste the good state of human life into which one

has been born, for this state that one has come to is one of excellent good fortune.

Nor will one waste this good state in which one has come across the teaching of

Buddhism in this life. Then the word “Buddha” which is the state of purity can

become your state and the property of all of you.

To conclude this Dhamma-desanā, may the virtues of the Lord Buddha, the

whole of the Dhamma and the Sangha come to all of you who are followers of the

Buddha so that you may have happiness and well being in your hearts, and may

all of you achieve those things which your heart truly wants.

Evaṁ

Thus it is.

Part 2 — Kammatthana

— 12 February, 1962 —


The words “Training ourselves in mediTaTion”, just mean the training of

our own heart. But in what state is the heart that it should need to be trained?

Generally speaking, the hearts of most people are always conceited and obstinate

in their thoughts and imaginings, all of which come from the heart. But people do

not know how to cure themselves of their conceited and obstinate nature.

This conceited and obstinate nature is very important, for due to its arising in

the heart it may lead a person to do evil things, or it may turn him into a good

person if he knows how to guard and protect his heart carefully and lead it in the

direction of virtue. Therefore, in this world there are to be found both wise and

foolish people, for those who are skilled in their own welfare have different ways

of behaviour from those who are not skilled. Their lives will be smooth and free

from trouble, or full of troubles and difficulties respectively, depending on the way

that their hearts have learnt to do things. This is very important, because of which

the Lord said:

“Asevanā ca bālānaṁ panditanañca sevanā”—which means—“Beware of fools, do

not associate with fools. One should try to associate only with those who are wise

and learned".


Fools may be found both externally and internally. The nature of external fools

has been partly covered already in the first of these two talks; but “internal fools”

refers to one’s own heart which, if it is foolish, will lead one into bad ways all the

time. If thoughts arise in such a way as to lead one into suffering and trouble, and

to bring suffering and trouble to others, such thoughts may be called “Foolish

thoughts” arising from the sphere of the heart.

The purpose of training and disciplining one’s heart so that it gradually be-

comes freed from conceit and obstinacy, is to change oneself into a truly clever

person. It is however, important to realize that in furthering the development of

one’s citta to make it “smooth and even”, it must be put into training. When one’s

heart has received sufficient training, one will continue to practice what one has

learnt, and one’s work and life in the world will generally proceed well. If how-

ever, one renounces the world and practices a higher level of Sīla Dhamma (moral

behaviour), one’s life will be smooth and harmonious, in a similar way. These are

some of the reasons why the training of the heart is most important.

Whether one is foolish or wise, both states arise only within the one citta and

not separately in different places. So that, as far as we are concerned here, training

in kammaṭṭhāna is for the purpose of training one’s own heart in the right way—

and in this context, the “right way” means that the thoughts in the mind which

flow out into bodily actions and speech shall be for correct purposes.

When this is done, one’s actions and speech will in general be aimed at pro-

moting harmony and concord in one’s associations with society and other people,

by helping others and doing philanthropic actions. All of which will come about

because one’s heart has been properly trained and put in good order.

There are gross fools, moderate fools and subtle fools, and for this reason, the

training which a person must go through in order to become a wise man, has

several grades.


The grossly foolish person is the type who is liable to be fierce and angry

hearted towards his brothers, sisters and close relatives; one who snatches and

steals thing—the type who generally goes about initiating trouble and anger ev-

erywhere. The moderately foolish person is of a similar nature, but he does not

go so far. The subtly foolish person just has thoughts, thoughts of envy, revenge,

conspiring against others and thoughts of anger and resentment of various kinds

dwelling in his heart. But he does not raise a hand or speak against anyone.

Sitting in meditation, or listening to the teaching of kammaṭṭhāna, as you are

doing at present, is for the purpose of coming to see the right and wrong which

arise from one’s own heart. On the other hand, if one relies on one’s own initiative,

and wrong thoughts arise and remain in one all the time, and if one has no train-

ing and is unmindful, one will hardly be able to distinguish these thoughts which

arise from the heart as being wrong thoughts.

When one permits such wrong thoughts to dwell in the mind, letting them

go in whatever way they like under the power of inherent tendencies which arise

from the heart without any restraint or hindrance, and when one has no interest

in trying to watch and cure them or bring them under control, then thoughts of a

wrong and evil nature will accumulate and dwell in one’s mind all the time. Such

thoughts may even be sufficiently strong to give rise to actions and speech which

are wrong and evil. Therefore training one’s heart is of the greatest importance.

For those who like to go further in the practice of kammaṭṭhāna, there are more

subtle levels of Dhamma, much more subtle than the way described above, and

these may be attained by the effort to train one’s own heart to become calm and

cool.

With regard to a cool heart, it can come about by stopping the work of the heart

which means stopping the endless stream of thoughts about all sorts of things

by making the heart dwell on one or another aspect of Dhamma. This is a way to

bring one’s heart under control so that it stays with this aspect of Dhamma. Or


one may use a parikamma (preparatory repetition), which is of just the right kind

to make the citta stay with this aspect of Dhamma until one becomes skilled and

accustomed to it and one can supervise the heart all the time with mindfulness.

Being thus constrained to dwell on this aspect of Dhamma with mindfulness will

then cause the citta to drop into a state of calm.

When one’s heart has attained calm, which means that it has become free from

all things with the exception of knowledge alone, happiness will arise, and one

will have the feeling that one’s heart has both virtue and worth.

A person who is unable to train his heart in virtue and worth, up to the level

where this becomes clearly evident to himself, might think that external things are

of more benefit and value than his own heart. It is for this reason that such people

are excessively conceited and vain about material possessions, and opinions and

many other things.

On the other hand, training up to the level where one can see the calm arising

in one’s heart, as described above; will bring about restraint and control of the

heart, and it will make one feel that those possessions which one must have in

order to live in this world are enough and are all that is necessary.

In training one’s heart to attain a state of calm, if one truly strives or is truly

diligent, and if one has already developed mindfulness, one’s heart will not be

able to overpower the mindfulness (that which watchfully guards it), and sooner

or later a state of calm is bound to arise in the sphere of the heart; which is at pres-

ent conceited and distracted.

The Lord Buddha, before he attained enlightenment and became the “World

Teacher”, also had the kilesas, taṅhā and āsavas within him, in the same way as all of

us. But the Buddha was able to overpower and completely eliminate these things,

which were the enemies of his heart until “Buddho” arose and appeared in the

world—just because he unceasingly strove with diligence, effort and attentiveness.


Normally one’s heart likes to gravitate down to a level or state, in the same

way as water always gravitates downwards, unless there is a pump to raise it to

a higher level. In this case the “pump” refers to such things as: always trying to

develop effort, patience, diligence in meditation, devotion to diligence, diligence

in being watchful over one’s heart, in saluting, in showing respect, in practising

the Buddhist chants, and diligence in having self control.

When one becomes used to doing these things, they become habits rooted in

one’s heart, so that one will continue to practise them. One will then come to see

the result of them appearing and developing in one’s heart.

When the result of doing the above things arises in one’s heart, which means

that happiness arises, then truly one will have gained that which will lead one’s

citta or heart steadily on to develop strong belief and faith. At this stage one will

have the means to attempt the development of a still higher level of calm in one’s

heart.

In attaining a state of calm, the average person may be able to attain such a

state for four or five minutes, depending on how he is used to it. But one who is

really accustomed to the practice of samādhi and bhāvanā can dwell in this state for

several hours.

The citta which attains such a state of rest will manifest calm and happiness. It

will let go of all those things which it is accustomed to think about, it will just be

superintended by knowledge and mindfulness, and it will be free from all things

of all kinds which trouble it. This is what is meant by the heart dropping into a

state of calm. When it can attain such a state one will begin to see that one’s heart

and one’s self have virtue and worth and that one is worthy of Buddhism.

Generally speaking however, people do not think in this way, and I would like

you to know that the one who is giving this talk also used to think at one time, as

many others do with wrong understanding, that all those things which make up

virtue, gracefulness and goodness are not the standard which one should live up


to and practise so that personal gain and happiness may arise and develop, until

one attains the Path, Fruition and Nibbāna (Magga, Phala and Nibbāna), which is

the highest level of Dhamma. The one who is giving this talk also used to think

that these things were the standard or nature, only of those “Great Ones” who

have abundant merit, such as the Lord Buddha, and that they were therefore able

to practise and attain a state of excellence and become “special people”. In other

words, to become a “Buddha” or a “Sāvaka” (Disciple of the Buddha). He also used

to think that people nowadays do not have the inherent ability to develop them-

selves in this way, so it is not for them.

When one still has not done any training, nor become deeply immersed in

Buddhism, such thoughts can arise, as they do in almost everyone. The reason

being that one has not practised or done anything. But when one endeavours and

strives with true diligence every day, it is similar to making one’s living; for a

person must not just take a day off from work whenever he feels like it as it would

spoil his living, and he may lose his livelihood. When however, he works every

day for the right periods of time, his work will undoubtedly prosper, he will be at

peace having security and the consequent happiness.

In a similar way, when one endeavours and strives to develop one’s heart until

one is able to work at it every day, or eventually in every posture (i.e.: walking,

standing, sitting and lying down), one may be sure that one will attain the taste

of the Good Dhamma (Saddhamma). In other words, calm will arise to a greater or

lesser extent, depending on one’s ability, provided that one practises enough for

it to arise.

When one has attained a state of calm and temporarily let go of “the burden”,

happiness, faith and wonderment will be felt in the heart, because this state arises

from the citta which has let go of its attachment to objects of sense and thoughts.

When the heart has experienced calm and peace such as this, it will have con-

fidence, faith, gladness and joy, even after it has withdrawn from this state, and


one will always know what it attained and the nature of the happiness that arouse

in the heart at that time. From then on, effort and diligence will greatly increase.

As one goes on training in the development of calm, one may expect that the

above state will arise more easily and quickly day by day, until the day comes

when one will be able to sit down anywhere at any time and in any season and set

one’s heart to attain a state of calm as one wishes.

This is what is meant by saying that one’s heart has been trained until it has

become skilful. Then wherever one is, happiness will always arise from one’s

heart, and wherever one lives or goes one will find that one has value and virtue

and is worthy of Buddhism. One will be a precious vessel that is able to receive

and retain the Good Dhamma and the whole of the teaching of the Lord Buddha.

In the training the heart to attain a state of calm and coolness such as this, one

may then ask: “If I should die now, what world or state will I attain?” There will

however, be no need to think about what would happen if one should die, for at

the time that one attains such a state of calm, one will still be in the present, living

on this earth as all other people do, but there will be a state of happiness in one’s

heart which will be sufficient assurance of one’s future state if one should chance

to die at that time. One will still go on living in a house or going about here and

there as other people do in the world, but this state of happiness will make one

feel that there is something wonderful within one’s heart, which has come about

by training it to attain a state of calm.

Having attained a state of calm and coolness of heart, one will then have the

potential or opportunity to examine, investigate and see the true nature of sabhava

generally—which means, the nature of things which exist.

The Lord said that “sabhāva” is one’s surrounding environment, and this may

be divided into two categories, as follows:


For one who is foolish, stupid, weak in wisdom and strong in the ways of evil,

all things become things which augment his evil ways.

For one who is firmly established in the ways of Sīla Dhamma (moral behav-

iour), as for instance, one who has gone a long way in the development of calm, all

things become devices which teach the heart, so that it finds a way to develop and

strengthen its calm from the things which make contact with it. At the same time,

one may investigate and meditate by way of Dhamma, upon the things which

make contact with one in one’s surrounding environment, so that one can derive

benefit from them, as and when they come into contact with one.

Furthermore, it should be understood by those who practise meditation, that

the word “calm” is a word with a broad and general meaning, whereas the word

“samādhi” means, that at the moment when the citta becomes concentrated to-

gether, it goes down and becomes firmly established. After the citta has arisen

and withdrawn from this state, the calm and coolness of heart which have been

induced do not leave the heart together with samadhi, but remain there even if one

then thinks about things, using creative thought and imagination, or using one’s

mind to plan and think out things in connection with one’s work. One may do all

these things as one wishes, but they will not make one’s heart turbulent or dis-

tracted; nor will it become attached or depressed in thinking about these things.

This is what is meant when they say that calm is one’s constant companion at all

times.

Thus samādhi means fixing the heart firmly and unwaveringly at the moment

when the citta becomes concentrated and drops down. Or, it means firmly and

unwaveringly fixing the heart so that sense objects (ārammaṇa) do not lead it into a

state of agitation and turbulence, even if one then uses imaginative thinking. This

is the nature of what, in Buddhism, is called samādhi.

When samādhi has been developed as far as this, one will have the faculty to

investigate the true nature of those things which are within oneself.


One may contemplate dukkha (suffering), and there is no need to go elsewhere

to look for it, for one can see it in oneself, for there is here a mass of suffering that

one tries to relieve and ward off all the time. One may contemplate by way of the

parts or the functions of the body, all of which are aspects of suffering.

But one may contemplate these parts of the body within oneself in whichever

way one finds suitable: by way of dukkha, as above, or by way of anicca (imperma-

nence), in which case one will come to see clearly that they are always imperma-

nent. Even those faculties which make up the nature of the heart in its functions of

inventing, imagining and thinking, are also impermanent and unstable. For how-

ever strongly imagination and ideas may arise, they die away to the same extent

as they arose. In other words, their arising may be great or small accordingly, but

when they die away their cessation will be exactly equal to their arising. This is

when wisdom (paññā) begins to get to work.

If however, one contemplates these parts of the body by way of anattā, one sees

that when one has departed from this existence (attabhāva), these parts are called

a corpse. And can one then take any of the parts of this body along with one? One

cannot take even a single hair for it must be thrown away and dispersed in this

world. As for the elements (dhātu), when after death, the body breaks up, the earth

element becomes earth, and similarly the water, fire and air elements return to

their own natural state. All of which contradicts the view that there are such enti-

ties as animals, people, women and men.

After contemplating and seeing clearly with wisdom in the above manner, one

will come to understand that what is external and what is internal are both of

the same nature, so that contemplating external things will reveal the same as

internal contemplation. In other words, the true nature (sabhāva), is the same both

externally and internally, which means that they are both anicca, dukkha and anattā

in the same way. This is what is meant by practising contemplation and using

wisdom.


When wisdom (paññā) has developed enough to enable one to meditate in the

above manner, then samādhi, which means firmness, stability or calmness of heart,

will become very strong. One will then come to great happiness and will clearly

come to see the danger and dread in the parts which are to be found throughout

this bodily form. One will see that it is a mass of suffering, or a “mass of fire”,

which always needs to be cared for and cured. Or else one will see it as a thing

which causes constant anxiety and worry. In this way one will come to see the

burden of it all. One will also come to see what really is the true nature (sabhāva)

of all those things which are around and about one.

At first when one sees the true nature of all the above things one is sure to criti-

cise them, although generally speaking, these are the things which most people

love. When, however one has contemplated and seen the true nature of them quite

clearly with wisdom, attachment and grasping die away from one’s perceptions,

and one just has a clear understanding of them. But until one has understood

clearly, one will generally speaking, tend to grasp at things, to be doubtful and to

retain one’s attachment.

When wisdom has untangled and examined the true nature of the above

things, seeing them absolutely clearly as they truly are, grasping and attachment

will steadily shrink and withdraw leading to a state of calm. This is when wisdom

begins to get to work with skill.

When one has dwelt in contemplation in the above way, what can there be to

make one’s heart tainted or corrupted? It will be energetic, very strong and care-

ful in guarding and watching oneself. Mindfulness will be strong, wisdom will

surround one, and diligence will be present at all times.

In seeing the danger and dread of the world, one will see much. In seeing the

virtue of going beyond all suffering and torment and attaining freedom from it,

one will see much.


Everything which has been said above is concerned with the true nature

(sabhāva) of the way of material things which have been associated with one’s citta

for a long time. For so long in fact, that one is unable to perceive what things are

dangerous to the citta; and this is so because it has been mixed up with and has

followed the common way of thinking and understanding in the world.

The Dhamma however, is not to be seen with the eyes of the flesh, but is to

be known with the heart. In other words, with vedanā (feeling), saññā (memory),

sankhāra (thought) and viññāṇa (awareness), each of these four being called a

“khandha”. The Lord Buddha then taught that: “Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho” (The

waning and complete extinction of these sankhāras is happiness). And this great-

est happiness does not die away and depart from one.

Rūpa khandha (the body group), is one form of sankhāra, and in a similar way,

vedanā, saññā, sankhāra and viññāṇa khandhas are each respectively, forms of

sankhāra which are referred to in the above quotation.

When one has contemplated and examined all these sankhāra dhammas quite

clearly with wisdom, in the way described above, one will be able to know all rūpa

dhammas (form objects) with insight, not only one’s own bodily form, but also ex-

ternal forms both far and near, tall or short, large or small, and valuable or worth-

less, as thought by people in the world. One will be able to know all these things

as they are, with insight and to let go and be free from them all. This is what the

Lord called the ability to let go of this one kind of sankhāra dhamma.

The most important types of sankhāra dhammas are however, those which arise

within one’s own heart, such as imagination and thinking. The Lord said that

supreme happiness comes when one gets rid of these sankhāra dhammas, meaning

the sankhāra dhammas which are the cause and origin of oneself and which arise

from delusion.

When one is able to know one’s own rūpa, vedanā, saññā, sankhāra and viññāṇa

with insight, “the waning and complete extinction of these sankhāras”, will mean


the waning and extinction of the internal sankhāras by means of wisdom, and the

gradual extracting of upādāna (attachment).

From where does upādāna arise? It arises from uncertainty, falsehood and dull-

ness of the heart, in other words, from knowledge and a way of understanding

which is under the influence of avijjā (ignorance) and doubt. This causes one to

grasp and become attached to things about which one has this kind of doubt,

or conversely to things about which one has no doubt. All of this is due to the

influence of avijjā which drives one into wrong ways, making one feel that: “This

thing is good”; “I like this thing”; “I hate this thing”. One has no doubt whether

“this thing” is truly good or truly bad, for the heart believes that it is so, and this

is called “avijjā”.

When one’s heart has contemplated, untangled and examined the sankhāra

dhammas quite clearly, seeing them as they truly are externally, and knowing them

as they truly are internally, then there will be no need to make one’s heart let go

of its attachment to these sankhāra dhammas, for it will let go of them itself due to

this clear knowing and understanding, thus abandoning or renouncing them by

means of wisdom (paññā).

In the above quotation, it says that the waning and complete extinction of all

these sankhāra dhammas is happiness. In regard to this:

The sankhāras which are one’s own result, are such things as one’s rūpa dhatu

(The elements which make up one’s body).

The sankhāras which are one’s own cause, are such things as thoughts and con-

structive imagination, both good and evil, gross and subtle, all of which arise from

the heart, and one may either call them thoughts or sankhāras.

From where do these sankhāras come? They come from the dictates of avijjā.

When one investigates with subtle wisdom, searching until one penetrates to the

basic origin of avijjā, the place where it has established itself, what is it that one


finds? Having penetrated to the basic origin of avijjā (which is the same thing as

the subtle kilesas), by means of subtle wisdom, the state at that moment will be like

a battle going on underground.

In other words, if one still thinks that avijjā and oneself are separate from one

another, then avijjā and oneself are sure to be constant enemies, and it is impos-

sible to know which will win and which will lose. This is because avijjā is the same

thing as delusion, and it is oneself that is deluded—and the one who fights the

avijjā is also oneself. For if one has the wrong view that avijjā is separate from one’s

heart, or that one’s heart is separate from avijjā, then avijjā and oneself are sure to

be constant enemies.

When one’s contemplation has reached this level and understood the above,

the whole of avijjā will be revealed by one’s wisdom and one will see that in fact:

“Apart from within oneself, there is no avijjā”. It is just the whole of oneself that

is deluded.

When the meaning of this has been seen quite clearly, avijjā disappears, and

one becomes “one who knows”. Delusion is oneself as one is now. When one be-

comes “one who knows”, due to the power of wisdom, that will be “oneself as one

is then”. Apart from oneself being deluded, delusion cannot be found elsewhere

in the world. Apart from oneself coming to “know”, knowledge cannot be found

elsewhere in the world.

The result of one’s investigation, penetrating and getting in amongst oneself

and avijjā is that, as soon as the avijjā dispersed, the truth is revealed that “Avijjā is

not to be found outside oneself”. As soon as one knows that it is oneself that is at

fault, virtue appears and develops. As soon as one knows that it is oneself that is

deluded, the “one who knows” appears and develops in the heart. Then one will

come to the end of all questions and doubts with regard to such things as “Who

am I?”, “What is Avijjā?”, and “What is Vijjā?”, for they are all oneself alone.


Truly then, one will be able to say that this is the waning and extinction of the

sankhāras, which accords with the Dhamma aphorism: “Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho”.

Furthermore, with regard to the cessation of those sankhāras which exist by

virtue of avijjā: when the sphere of avijjā has dropped away and disappeared,

sankhāras may still arise and be active, as they did with the Lord Buddha after he

had attained enlightenment, for he certainly used the five khandhas to established

Buddhism. Throughout his life he had to have rūpa, which was his physical body,

also sankhāra khandha, memory and the rest, all of which are known as the “Five

khandhas”. This was so until the day that he was finished with them and he en-

tered Parinibbāna.

But these five khandhas of the Lord Buddha had become mere khandhas, they

had become just the “door” of the citta, without the arising of any kilesas, taṅhā or

avijjā whatsoever. This was so because avijjā had been completely destroyed by the

power of wisdom, and the five khandhas had become mere khandhas, in which the

kilesas and taṅhā would never again arise and appear. Therefore, it was said that:

“The extinction of those sankhāras (which make up the kilesas, taṅhā and avijjā) is

the highest and greatest happiness”.

At this stage, when one spreads one’s attention to the external sankhāras, all

of which are rūpa; which may be large or small, broad or narrow, or however else

they may be, and which also include sound, smell, taste and things which contact

the body, each of them appears as a normal sabhāva (thing in its “own nature”). If

one then turns one’s attention to oneself, one’s rūpa, vedanā, saññā, sankhāra and

viññāṇa also appear to oneself just as the respective sabhāva. None of these things

appear as good or evil, nor in association with the kilesas, taṅhā or māna (conceit)

whatsoever, because the power of wisdom knows them as they are, with insight.

The most important thing, which is also one’s greatest curse and evil, is thus

“avijjā” within the heart, and this can be overcome and completely got rid of by

means of wisdom. When this is done, there is nothing to create, construct and


cause “originating sankhāras” to arise and lead to trouble and anxiety, nor to give

rise to birth, old age, sickness and death, and so on. This truly is what the Lord

said: “Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho”.

When there is no more avijjā left, those things which are formations of arranged

parts and functions, such as a bodily form, as a man or woman, or becoming and

birth, old age, sickness and death, and all the mass of suffering and trouble in the

future, cannot come from any of the remaining sankhāras; for they can only come

from those sankhāras which arise based on avijjā.

When these sankhāras have been extinguished due to the extinction of avijjā;

or, when avijjā the great creator and originator has been destroyed, the remain-

ing sankhāras, which still exist as the five khandhas will be mere sankhāras and will

never again be poisonous and dangerous to the “one who knows”. Therefore it is

called: “Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho”.

With the destruction of the internal sankhāras which initiate becoming and

birth, and the clear knowing of the external sankhāras, meaning the physical body

which is the result that one received from internal sankhāras in the past, and this

with the emancipation received from internal sankhāras in the past, and thus with

the emancipation from all sankhāras everywhere, due to wisdom, all the sankhāras

which still remain revert back to their normal state in accordance with their true

nature and go the way of nature. Thus, the earth element is earth, the water ele-

ment is water, the fire is fire and the air is air, and they are not attached to anyone;

for they can only become attached to the heart which is under the influence of

delusion, and which goes wandering about initiating birth and becoming, forms,

bodies and sankhāras. But these things are all resultant sankhāras, and not causal

sankhāras, for causal sankhāras are such as arise under the influence of avijjā.

When avijjā has come to an end, the control over the sankhāras is a mere control,

just sufficient to expediently regulate life from day to day; and when the end of

life has been reached, they break up and disperse in accordance with their own


nature. The remaining nature, which is pure (parisuddhi), is also free (vimutti), as it

will have been from the time when this sabhāva (nature) first became pure.

There is then no manifestation of anything which goes towards becoming and

birth, old age, sickness and death, nor anything which leads to the arising of fur-

ther sankhāras. And this is called: “Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho” (The fading away and

ceasing of all sankhāras is supreme happiness).

The purpose of training one’s heart is to get free from hindrances, obstacles

and all suffering and torment, so that one may gradually come to harmony and

ease in one’s existence. If one is unable to reach the Path and Fruition (Magga—

Phala), which is the highest state, all the virtue, which one develops here and now

in this life, will become a habit condition which will lead to becoming and birth

that will be good and suitable for one’s aspirations in the future.

There are many different forms of birth, and if one has not developed virtue,

one may be born in a situation which is both bad and unsuitable and as far away

from one’s aspirations as the sky is from the earth. One should think carefully

about this.

At such time as the present while we are all sitting here, one may look and

see with one’s own eyes that there are people of upper, middle and lower class,

the rich and poor, the foolish and clever. This is the way things are, and is there

anyone who can alter us and turn us into the person that we would like to be? Not

so, for these conditions arise due to the kamma which we have formed in the past.

Therefore one should constantly accumulate good kamma in order to attain

what one genuinely wants in the future. The influence of this kamma is a thing of

the greatest importance, for: “one has the right to make kamma, but kamma has the

right to bring results back to one”.

When the results of kamma come to fruition, if the kamma is good, the results

which one receives will be good: such as having plenty, being clever, having the


influence of one’s good habit tendencies, and having power and virtue of a differ-

ent nature from that of other people who have also had a human birth.

If on the other hand, the kamma is bad, the results which one receives will be

bad: one’s physical body may be deformed, one may be poor and needy, and gen-

erally speaking, wherever one is born in this world, suffering will arise, flow in,

accumulate and remain there, in oneself alone. As in a cesspit, all the urine and

feces flow in, accumulate and remain there.

“Kamma is thus like Brahma Likhit, which is said to wait always, to give us all

our rewards according to our deeds, both to those whose kamma is good and to

those whose kamma is bad”.

Therefore, one must try to train one’s heart so that one will become a person

who has the power of good habit tendencies in his heart. One should not however,

aspire to have the power of good habit tendencies for the purpose of commanding

and controlling others, but only for commanding and controlling one’s own body,

speech and heart, to make them do things which are virtuous, graceful and good.

Or else, for the purpose of doing things to benefit the world and Dhamma as one

may wish, for this is far better than with those people who have no interest and

never do anything in the way of Dhamma.

When one has the power of good habit tendencies very strongly developed,

then one can attain: “Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho”—which the Lord Buddha did not

keep to himself, for he laid down the Dhamma as an inheritance for us so that

we could follow the way that he went, and so that it should promote the strength

of our own good habit tendencies until we can reach the ultimate point, which

is “Magga, Phala and Nibbāna” (The Path, Fruition and Nibbāna). These three can

then become the qualities of each one of us who attains this state; and then we will

be radiant with the power of our own virtue and goodness.

Therefore, apart from one’s aspirations to attain freedom and Nibbāna, the

most important thing is the training of one’s heart. But if one still has not got the


right aspiration and desire, because one’s practice, or the power of one’s “perfect

tendencies” (Vāsanā pāramī), are not yet sufficient, nor strong enough to enable

one to attain freedom, one will still be destined in the future, to have one or more

births and lives which are smooth and free from troubles in whatever realm or

world, or within whatever country or boundaries one lives. They will be boundar-

ies within which there will be peace and happiness of heart, because the power

of the Dhamma is a guardian and protection. This follows the word of the Lord

who said:

“Dhammo have rakkhati dhammacāriṁ” (The Dhamma guards people who prac-

tice Dhamma, preventing them from falling into evil).

In saying that “the Dhamma is one’s guardian”, how does it guard one? To

start with, one must at first promote Dhamma. To give an example: this (Mahā

Makut) Educational Council Building, in which we are at present sitting and lis-

tening to this Dhamma-desanā did not come into being automatically on its own,

nor by way of nature. But it arose due to the people who planned it and built

it, and due to all those people who had virtue and merit in their hearts; so that

when faith arose collectively in them all, they started to plan and build. In time,

the building was completed, and now it is the place where we are all seated in the

“cool shade”. It is pleasant for us, the sun may shine or the rain may fall, but we sit

at ease and need not worry about the conditions outside. This is the case with this

Educational Council Building, and it is also the case with our own homes which

protect us in many ways.

All these things exist because they have at first been made by us; then they

become things which can protect us. In a similar way, one must, to start with,

practice Dhamma and promote Dhamma, which means that one’s own bodily ac-

tions, speech and heart must be put into good order, one must develop calm and

one must generally follow the way of Dhamma in a relaxed and tolerant manner.


By virtue of having promoted Dhamma in the foregoing way, one is then bound

to be protected by Dhamma, and wherever one is born in the future, the influence

of the Dhamma which one has built and developed by right training will follow

and help one.

Then one will be cool hearted and happy in all forms of becoming and birth for

the rest of the time that one must still spend wandering in the round of saṁsāra.

When finally one has the power of very strong good habit tendencies, one will

be able to get free from the suffering and danger which are inherent in the round

of saṁsāra, and one will come to: “Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho”—“The dying away and

cessation of all that which causes worry”. In other words, all these sankhāras can

disappear, so that one reaches the far bank of the river—which is “Nibbāna”.

In conclusion of this Dhamma-desanā, may the blessing of the Lord Buddha

come to all of you who are the followers of the Buddha, so that you may have

bodily happiness and wellbeing of heart always.

Evaṁ.

Thus it is.

aspire4935

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Notes:

1. Dhammapada. V. 182. This four-line verse is the basis of this talk. The whole of it is as follows:

Kiccho manussapaṭilābho—Hard is it to attain the good fortune of a human life,

Kicchaṁ maccāna jīvitaṁ—Hard is the life of mortal beings,

Kicchaṁ saddhammasavaṇaṁ—It is hard to hear the good Dhamma,

Kiccho Buddhānaṁ uppādo—Hard is the uprising of the Buddhas.

It should be noted that each section of this talk is a commentary on each line of the above

verse, the line of verse being a heading to each section.

2. Breath—in this passage—is not meant to have any very special significance. It is here meant

as that most obvious vital function which is common to all beings and which indicates that

the being is still living. As in English we say, “He is still breathing” or “He breathed his last”.

But it is also interesting to note how the breath is linked to the state of the citta: thus calm

breathing means that the citta is calm; rapid breathing that it is agitated; and final cessation

of breathing means that the citta is no longer associated with the body.

3. Meru—is the Thai name for a crematorium, normally situated in a Wat.

4. In Siam it is reckoned that when a person dies, his “ghost” still remains for a longer or

shorter time in the vicinity of the place where he died. This is not always the case, but is

most likely to occur if a person had a lot of bad kamma.

5. The heart (citta) which is infused with avijjā is the wheel of saṁsāra. But as soon as avijjā is

removed from the heart, it ceases to be the wheel of saṁsāra.

The Need forMindfulness

& Wisdom22 July, 1962—


Visaṅkhāra gataṁ cittaṁ taṅhānaṁ khayamajjhagāti

— Dhammapada : 154

“My citta has attained beyond sankhāras; I have attained the end of taṅhā”

we have Been ordained in The Buddha Sāsanā, and whatever race or lineage

we come from, we should realise that we have entered that known as the Sākya

lineage, which is the lineage of the Ksatriya. For the Lord Buddha came from the

Sākya lineage and renounced the state of royalty with all its wealth, and even

his partner in developing the perfections—in other words his wife and son, who

were like his own heart. He was able to give them up for the aim of Anuttara

Sammāsambodhiñāṇa.

The story of the Lord Buddha, from the time when he first left home, until he

attained the state of “the Buddha”, was a story of obstacles and difficulties that he

met at every step on the path along which he went, and which he overcame every

time.

The path along which all the Buddhas have travelled is difficult and hard and a

person who does not have the true diligence and effort will not be able to escape

from the snares of Māra.

All of us who are followers of the Lord Buddha must examine and see the way

which the Lord Buddha went and we must have a firm intention in our hearts

to tread in the footsteps of the Lord. The words “Supaṭipanno, Ujupaṭipanno,

Ñāyapaṭipanno, Sāmicipaṭipanno Bhagavato Sāvakasangho“ are nothing but signposts

set up by the Lord for all the Sāvakas to follow, so that the title of “Sāvakasangho“

may be appropriate to them, for it means that they are the true Sāvakas of the Lord

Buddha.


The word “Sāvaka” means “one who listens”—who “listens” with his eyes, his

ears and with the thoughts of his mind. From day to day he is not idle in his

thoughts, which search out the reasons for things so that he may take care of

himself and be self-controlled for the purpose of going on to become one who has

purity of sīla and who has samādhi in order to attain a state of calm which steadi-

ly becomes more and more unshakeable so as to have paññā which searches for

knowledge and skill to embellish himself. Apart from this one cannot call anyone

a Sāvaka of the Lord.

Now, at this time, all of us here have given up working for our livelihood since

we were ordained into the Buddha Sāsanā. The daily activities of a householder

which lay people must do have been given up entirely by us in all its respects and

we have no part in the worry and bother of such activities. Instead the duty of

each one of us is to practise to become:

Supaṭipanno—one who practises what is good by way of body, speech and mind.

Ujupaṭipanno—one who is going directly towards enlightenment by way of body,

speech and mind.

Ñāyapaṭipanno—one who aims for enlightenment which is ñāyadhamma

(Dhamma that should be known) all the time.

Sāmicipaṭipanno—one who is always seemly in the way he does things with his

body, speech and mind in all respects.

He never gives occasion for being blamed that his ways are at fault in the prin-

ciples of Dhamma and Vinaya that would cause him to deviate from the state of a

Sāvaka of the Lord.

Within these four articles of Dhamma are the qualities of all the Sāvakas who

made up their minds to behave and practise what was good. If they had deviated

from these four, even though they had shaved their heads and eyebrows and put

on yellow robes they would not have seemed to be any different from lay people.

T h e N e e d f o r M i n d f u l n e s s & W i s d o m 133

Within these four articles of Dhamma are the qualities of all the Sāvakas who

made up their minds to behave and practise what was good. If they had deviated

from these four, even though they had shaved their heads and eyebrows and put

on yellow robes they would not have seemed to be any different from lay people.

If one always has sati to guard and look after one’s heart so that the changes

and fluctuations of it are known, both when it goes in the wrong way and in the

right way, it may be said that one is doing the practice of diligent effort. This is

what the practice of diligent effort means, whereas standing, walking, sitting and

lying down are merely the normal postures which we must change from time to

time. They are remedial states which preserve our bodies enabling them to last

their life span—or (one may say), in order to have comfort and ease in our bodies

and minds. But as to whether one can say that one’s heart is doing the practice of

diligent effort it depends on sati and paññā for these are what matter.

Sati is recollection—in other words, always knowing oneself. Paññā is the care-

ful watching or scrutinising and examining of whatever comes and makes con-

tact and enters from outside, or watching and examining the fluctuations of one’s

heart which is changing and vacillating all the time, so that one constantly has

a present awareness. Anything other than these cannot be called the practice of

diligent effort.

Who is there to uphold the sāsanā of the Lord Buddha except we who have

been ordained and are in the lead of all others—there is no one else in the world

who is able to do so, for if the monks are unable to attain magga, phala and Nibbāna

by means of the way of practice, and if they only have discouragement and lazi-

ness the sāsanā will just collapse. There is nobody else who is able to uphold it.

In particular it is a most important thing for we who are ordained and who

practise what those in the world call kammaṭṭhāna, to be constantly aware of our-

selves. Otherwise we will be worthless people devoid of value in all actions and

wasting the gifts (four paccaya) which the lay people give us every day and which


they have always obtained with effort, for each time they make gifts to us it in-

volves no little difficulty and hardship for them.

Let us always realise that at present we are ordained monks and followers of

the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata was one who had courage and resoluteness in all kind

of events whether facing good or evil. He had perseverance and diligence and he

put up with difficulties and hardships of all kinds that he met with. He was not

lazy, not one who wakes late in the morning, or one who was selfish, for he was

thinking of attaining freedom from dukkha all the time. These are the basic things

for becoming a Buddha—who is the possessor of the principles of Dhamma.

If we are to become “those who know”, who are skilled and who follow in

the track of the Lord, we must also be upholders of laziness, thinking only of our

stomachs, of carelessness and slovenliness, of getting up late in the morning and

thinking only of ourselves, for these are not principles of Dhamma which are

useful in getting free from dukkha. All of us ought to know that this is so.

Concerning investigating—any one of us who fixes his attention on something

or who is accustomed to contemplate something must be determined to contem-

plate so that the aspect of Dhamma that he is contemplating or fixing his attention

upon shall be seen clearly. He must not be without any basis, nor “drift with the

wind”, unable to find an “anchor post” to hold and restrain him.

Wherever sati is established, Dhamma is sure to arise there, but if one has no

sati then Dhamma will never arise, for sati is the important thing in the practice of

diligent effort. It should always be realised that to let the heart relax and become

calm by itself alone is impossible, and none of us would ever see any results from

this even if we went on doing it for the rest of our lives, for the usual state of the

heart is to have “wrappings” which cover it up all the time. These “wrappings”,

the Lord called kilesas—and they do not come from anywhere else apart from just

one’s own heart.


As to the training and subjugation of the heart which are done in order to at-

tained calm or the ending of conceit and stubbornness in regard to all these things

(kilesas), it must be dependent on a person who has the diligence and energy to

make the constant effort to watch his heart. If anything tends in the direction of

what is bad or wrong he must force himself to give it up until he is able to do so

more and more easily—until he is eventually able to give it up entirely with noth-

ing of it remaining. When he is able to give them up entirely, such troublesome

things will then no longer be able to harass and bother his heart.

Getting free from obstacles and hindrances is normally bound to involve some

forcible opposition to them. The Lord Buddha, the Sāvakas or any of the famous

Ācariya all forcibly opposed the obstacles and hindrances with which they were

faced.

Dukkha we know to be one of the Ariya Sacca. If we have not examined dukkha

and seen it, where will we go to escape from it? Samudaya—is the field of the origi-

nation of dukkha—and where does it originate? In the imaginative thinking of the

heart (mind).

Generally speaking, if one has not had any training this imaginative thinking

of the heart is bound to imagine things which tend in the direction of what is bad

or wrong all the time—in that direction which accumulates the kilesas so that they

are maintained or increased within the heart.

Therefore the method of “fixing” the heart (citta) which is called bhāvanā is the

way to cure all things which are oppressors weighing down one’s heart, so that

step by step they are steadily got rid of.

While the heart has not yet attained calm it will not see the value of the sāsanā,

and even we ourselves will appear to have no value at all. But after we have trained

and subdued our hearts and attained a state of calm we will certainly see that the

Dhamma has a value and that the sāsanā is a precious and excellent thing—and


even in ourselves, we will feel that we are beginning to be people of increasing

worth.

Therefore contemplating the heart is very important, and our set task of ex-

tracting and getting rid of these things (kilesas) which we have accumulated is a

more important task than any other. And the practice of diligent effort is equally

important—diligent effort in trying until we see the reasons (causes and effects)

behind those things which are tangled up with our hearts, observing and pre-

cisely defining them to make them quite clear.

For when the eye sees forms (rūpa) or the ear hears sounds they are bound to

give rise to feeling in our hearts, and we should then unravel and look at all such

things seeing clearly and fully comprehending them with paññā. When the citta

has seen any of these things with paññā it can never again seize and grasp hold

of it nor crave for it and the heart will let go of it at once. Here, in “letting go” we

must do so with sati and paññā, for without sati and paññā as the agents which

guard and cure the heart respectively, it will never attain the ceasing of dukkha.

We have been born into this life and the amount of dukkha that we have we

know in our heart. But in particular we know how much we have today—and

tomorrow is sure to be similar. Throughout this life we are sure to go on living in

this way, and as to the next life we need have no doubt who it will be that suffers.

We ought to realise that whoever accumulates or stores away a mass of dukkha or

the causes that make for the uprising of dukkha is the one who experiences dukkha

today, tomorrow, this life, next life, for this is the one who goes round and round

dying and being born in this wheel of saṁsāra and receiving dukkha and subser-

vience for how many aeons we know not. It is a long, long road—so long that

nobody is able to reckon how far it is from the beginning. In other words, from

one’s original first birth to the end of the road, which is the freedom of Nibbāna,

how far is it? How many miles? Nobody can measure it because this nature is the

nature of vaṭṭa (the round of birth, old age, sickness and death) which is whirling


oneself around all the time. We cannot measure it in miles or kilometres, but we

can analyse it, and we must do so by examining the characteristics (lakkhaṇa) of

this vaṭṭa which is whirling oneself around.

If any one of us does examine this vaṭṭa which is whirling him around and

which has always come into being together with this heart, he will be one who is

able to cure and get rid of vaṭṭa—this whirling self—from his heart. And he will

reach the sphere of freedom from dukkha which the Lord called Nibbāna—which

arises in just this, his own heart. There is a very important principle in this, so let

us all set our hearts to contemplate this and examine it carefully—and don’t let us

give way to disheartenment and feebleness.

Whenever sati is established in any part, that part will be Dhamma training

one’s heart—or Dhamma as the device for curing one’s heart so that it becomes

calm and steady. This is also the case with paññā, for when attention is fixed upon

and penetrates into any of the sabhāva dhammas one will steadily come to know

various skilful ways and tricks from them. Therefore sati and paññā are essential

forms of Dhamma in Buddhism.

In the practice of diligent effort it may be that one does not see any progress

towards a state of calm in one’s heart. This is the case with those who are absent-

minded. When walking caṅkama in this way, and similarly when sitting, standing

and lying down, and they make no special effort with sati and paññā, therefore

they cannot attain calm of heart because they release the citta and let it go the way

of their various emotional moods. They release it and let it go all the time, never

restraining or forcibly restricting it and never making it get into the framework of

sati and paññā.

If one forces one’s heart to dwell on any one aspect of Dhamma, or on the

parts of the body, taking up any part of parts accordingly, together with sati and

tethered by paññā, letting one’s heart wander about throughout the whole of this

bodily framework for a short or a long time and depending on one‘s paññā to


investigate more or less deep or shallow, gross or subtle, then by investigating in

this way, steadily and soon it will lead to calm, to clear, clean, happy state, and to

being skilful, clever and wise.

What is the cause of this? Someone may have practised for a long time and

not seen any increase of knowledge or excellence in his heart. Let all of us fully

understand here and now that his sati and paññā have not been established with

true determination. He establishes them for one second and then lets them disap-

pear entirely for one hour so that his “income” and “expenditure” do not balance.

Expenditure being more than income he is bound to go bankrupt. For he mainly

lets his heart come under the sway of vaṭṭa. If he guards his heart with sati and

paññā so that it goes in the direction of getting free from vaṭṭa less than in allowing

his heart to go the way of vaṭṭa, his heart will not go towards a state of calm, skill-

fulness or cleverness. Let all of us understand this now, otherwise there will be

more nonsense in the future! By day and by night we do not have to be bothered

or worried by anything—take a look at the things which you should be doing,

look at your own activities.

As to the Teachers (Ācariya) and other friends with whom you associate daily,

you must not think that they are a load on your mind of which you have to be

afraid, nor towards which you must be aggressive, nor should you be disturbed

emotionally by them in any way. But if you are wrong in any way he (the Teacher)

must point it out, always guiding you in the right way and telling you what is

wrong. You must always set yourself to see and follow just what he teaches, but

you must not think that he upsets your emotions. Emotions are the most impor-

tant things, so take a look at the activities of your heart which is at all times the

basis of your emotional state. Otherwise you will not be able to go towards a state

of calm and you will lose day by day, and the days add up and become months

and the months add up and become many years.


Our lives are getting shorter day by day and the valuable results which we

ought to get from the life of virtue are only a little—which is not appropriate for

us who are sons of the Tathāgata and have come into the circle of the sāsanā.

The principles of truth are there in the body and the citta and we set up sati and

paññā to penetrate into the basis of the body and the citta. Why should we not be

able to know them? The body and the citta are dhammas which are genuine or we

may say that they are dhammas which have always deserved the attention of sati

and paññā from of old. The Lord Buddha investigated and examined every part of

the body as being entirely dukkha, anicca and anattā, which was the reason why he

was skilled knowing all things clearly with paññā. The body of the Lord Buddha

and our own bodies are not fundamentally different from each other. Sati and

paññā of the Lord Buddha are skillfulness in the same way as with ourselves and it

is only in so far as their breadth and depth are concerned that there is a difference.

Why is it that the Lord Buddha was able to bring sati and paññā to research

within the body and to know clearly and see truly into all the sabhāva dhammas?

With all of us here the sabhāva dhammas, which means the body and citta, exist

here and now entire and complete. Then why is it that we do not see any results

in ourselves?

As for dukkha, whether of the body or of the citta, it announces its presence at

every moment so that one who has sati and paññā is bound to be in a constant state

of “trembling” with the dukkha which comes and makes contact amidst the citta

with dukkha and with sati and paññā, all of which are together there in the same

state. Then why is one unable to know these things which are there and which are

also not hidden or secret in any way whatsoever?

When dukkha comes from any organ in any part of the body, it cannot remain

hidden from the citta, the one that receives it and knows it. In a similar way, dukkha

which arises within the citta itself also cannot remain hidden from the citta that

receives and knows it. If one has sati (ready) waiting to attend to and examine all


aspects of this dukkha and to make it clear and plain, and if one meditates with

paññā to see clearly why this dukkha arose, how it arose, whether this dukkha is

oneself or whether oneself has this dukkha, or whether one or another part of this

body are dukkha, or whether the whole body is dukkha, or who is the deluded one

who goes along with this dukkha, then using paññā, in this way how is it that one

should not be able to attain the skill and wisdom which comes from one’s heart or

from one’s paññā? the reason is just because of “drifting” of the citta which is thus

not being set up firmly and unshakably. One has a fear of dukkha and so one is not

able to know and understand dukkha clearly, nor can on reach and grasp sukha to

be the wealth of one’s heart.

Dukkha may be much or little, it may come to stay or die away and disappear,

but let us understand that dukkha is just dukkha. Knowing these things to be dukkha

and investigating and seeing them truly in accordance with the true nature of

dukkha: just this is the way of the heart with paññā.

One practises with diligent effort for how many days, months or years and one

still sees no results—as though dukkha, which truly exists, went out and hid in a

remote cave or abyss and has not been dwelling within one’s own body and citta

at all.

There are fish in the water and there is wealth in the earth, but that one does

not catch the fish nor get the wealth to make it one’s own is due to oneself. As to

the wealth in Buddhism which is based on the wealth of sīla, the wealth of samādhi,

the wealth of paññā, the wealth of vimutti, the wealth of vimuttiñāṇadassana, these

forms of wealth depend upon the practice of each individual and whether he is

able more often to practise strenuously than non-strenuously. The results which

he should thus receive will differ in accordance with the strength of weakness of

the causes which he does and makes.

We who have been ordained in the sāsanā, who are followers of the Tathāgata

with the full status of what is known as “sons of the Sākya”, should more than


ant others be those who possess the wealth of lokuttara in progressively increas-

ing stages. In the Dhamma which he taught the Lord said that these (stages) were:

Sotāpatti-magga, Sotapatti-phala; Sakādāgāmī-magga, Sakādāgāmī-phala; Anāgāmī-

magga, Anāgāmī-phala; and Arahatta-magga, Arahatta-phala and all this wealth is in-

cluded in the wealth of vimuttiñāṇadassana—which is the wealth of Nibbāna.

The wealth in the sāsanā dwells in the sphere of the svākkhāta-dhamma, which

the Lord Buddha rightly proclaims, and which is the niyyānika-dhamma—able to

lead beings who have the intention to follow the way of the Lord so as to be able to

steadily get rid of dukkha. If those who are ordained and who are known as people

who practise are still not able to make themselves suited to this Dhamma then it is

hard to know who can become accomplished in the Dhamma of the Lord. Because

an ordained samaṇa is one who is close to the Lord both as regards being someone

who has little to worry about in the way of affairs and business and as regards his

modes of practice which are his means for going onward so that he is able to do

and to follow the pattern of the way the Lord went. But in particular, those who

also dwell in the forest which is always quiet and secluded have the best chance

of all to put forward diligent effort for attaining the wealth of sīla, samādhi, paññā,

vimutti and vimuttiñāṇadassana, for arousing them and developing them stage by

stage from the grossest stages right up to the most subtle.

For Sīla and Dhamma of all stages are developed for the state of spotless purity,

the degree of which depends on the stage of development, and generally speaking

this is likely to depend on living in a quiet place away from the crowds, both of lay

people and those who are ordained in the Sangha.

We can see this from the Lord Buddha and the way he brought up the Sāvakas,

for it is evident that he saw danger in mixing with people and affairs that give rise

to worry, these being enemies of the dhammas of a samaṇa—which is a life of well-

being directed in the way of the Dhamma of the Lord and his Sāvakas. At the same

time the Lord saw the value in quietness and he spoke very highly of it, and so in


all their activities the Lord and the Ariya Sāvakas were complete in the practice of

diligent effort in quiet places—for Dhamma likes to arise in quiet places.

If it is still not quiet both externally and within one’s heart, Dhamma will not

arise. But when both these forms of quietness have appeared within a person,

Dhamma will also begin to appear within him. In other words, sīla will start to

become pure, samādhi will begin to appear in his heart and develop in the stages

of samādhi, and paññā will begin to rise up and move as soon as samādhi starts to

appear and it will develop in the stages of paññā step by step, all of which depends

only on how the person who is doing the practice hurries after what his heart de-

sires without letting any obstacles whatsoever obstruct him. And this is because

he is away from those things which irritate and disturb him and which make

his citta lean towards anxiety and worry from the emotionally disturbing objects

which come into contact with him.

Summarising the above, Dhamma likes to arise in quiet places and at quiet

times. Even those who uphold Dhamma such as the Lord Buddha himself like to

live in quiet places all the time—with the except in of those occasions when he

went to perform his function as the “Buddha” just to favour those who were fit to

be taught (ñeyya). When he saw that it was appropriate he would then make al-

lowances for the benefit of those who were able to receive teaching from the Lord,

But once he had finished doing such “Buddha work” he stopped immediately and

did not carry on and on like ordinary people everywhere.

All of us whom people in the world call by the name kammaṭṭhāna or “those

who practice” ought to think somewhat about ourselves and how we are. If we

want Buddha, which is purity and skillfulness, to rule over our hearts we must

modify and correct our hearts, out bodies and our speech to accord with the way

that the Lord led us. Then we will become Sāvakas who have purity in our hearts—

we need not doubt this.


But if a liking for the affairs of the “obscene Dhamma” possesses the heart of

anyone he will think, wrongly, that Dhamma likes to arise in the middle of the

marketplace, at the crossroads, or where there are crowds of people—such as in

the music hall, the theatre, the cinema, the radio and television—and that concern

with these things will make the world praise him and say that he is the first and

best kammaṭṭhāna! This is because he is blind to any other way and he has no dis-

quietude and fear. For even if they got a lot of bones to hang around his neck as

a necklace he would think of it as though it were a wreath of laurels. This is the

“obscene Dhamma” which like to arise with thoughts and understanding which

are equally obscene.

But even if he makes no external display that is loathsome, it still makes enough

of a display in his own heart (mind) which is an equally loathsome thing.

Please let us all understand this, and correct our own actions of body, speech

and heart to accord with the principles of the Dhamma of the Lord, then meditat-

ing on the Dhamma of sorrow in birth, old age, pain and death, endeavour to get

rid of the kilesas, taṅhā and avijjā which are out enemies.

You must not be careless and disinterested in your activities, but you must

encourage and train your sati and paññā, for these are like a ready sword which

must be made capable of fighting against the kilesas, taṅhā and āsavas—which are

the enemies that tyrannise and compel your hearts at every moment, so that one

day you will be able to dispel and finish with this enemy for good. For anyone

who has sati and paññā present within him in all his activities at all times will

surely become the owner of the best kind of wealth—which is magga, phala and

Nibbāna—in this lifetime.

Today I wish to emphasise once again that in your Dhamma practice the most

important dhammas of all are sati coupled with paññā, and they cannot be dis-

pensed with for even a moment. Because sati and paññā are the instruments of

Dhamma which make for wakefulness and awareness in the practice of diligent


effort. So that any moment when an emotionally disturbing object arises in one’s

heart or comes from external things, sati and paññā do their duty with regard to

such disturbing objects which associate with oneself. Then instead of these dis-

turbing objects that touch one’s heart being enemies, they can become things of

value by virtue of the power of sati and paññā to know them, what they are up to,

and why.

The establishing of sati starts to be necessary from the day that one begins

training in bhāvanā. Whichever parikamma-dhamma one uses—such as “Buddho”—

one must establish sati to remain in close association with this form of Dhamma

as though it were truly a matter of life and death. Without wasting any time, the

result will then soon appear as a state of calm arising and becoming fully evident.

Generally, those who practise and who let time waste away without getting

the valuable results in their hearts which they should get, do so because they are

careless and lackadaisical and they do not make haste to take up the full measure

of the practice of diligent effort with sati and paññā while their age in vassa (rainy

seasons) is still small. They let their hearts go out to follow the way of the world

until they lack awareness of what they should be doing, and they behave in the

manner of people who sell things before they have bought them, which is wrong

both in the customary way of doing things in the world and in Dhamma, and

before they become aware of it it’s already too late.

The right way to do business is to start by buying at the right price, then one

can sell at a higher price sufficient to make a profit which covers the cost of living

and gives capital for further investment. People who prosper act in this kind of

way.

As for the way of Dhamma, before the Lord became the “world teacher” we are

told that he made efforts, training himself and practising austerities, sometimes

even going so far as to become completely unconscious. Nobody has ever heard

that any of the Sāvakas, or anyone else, was able to equal the Lord in this—and he


went on doing it for six years without slackening his efforts, and nobody knew

whether the Lord would live or die when he went through such sufferings and

hardships. Up to the day of his enlightenment, the practice of diligent effort was

never done in fits and starts by the Lord. Thus it was that he made gains for him-

self and became fulfilled first of all, and afterwards he performed the functions of

the “Lord Buddha”.

When the Sāvakas had heard the Dhamma from the Lord, they set themselves

to the practice of diligent effort and sought for a quiet place to get rid of the

kilesas and āsavas from their hearts, without having any worldly ambitions at all.

They were people who at every breath they took saw dread in birth and death

occurring over and over again. This was because of the strong practice of diligent

effort that arose from the heart which saw dread in dukkha until this dread had

become strong enough to support and induce sati and paññā to work all the time

in the body and citta in all activities without slackening. Then they were able to ex-

tract and remove the kilesas and āsavas from their hearts by means of samuccheda-

phāna—overcoming by destroying—and they attained Nibbāna while still living at

that moment.

Thus it was that the Sāvakas made gains for themselves and became fulfilled

first of all, and afterwards they began to do things to benefit the world in whatever

ways were appropriate, and to be a help in easing the Buddha’s duty.

This is how the Lord Buddha—the Sāvakas—did things, not by way of sell-

ing before buying, for if he had done things in this way he could never in truth

have been the teacher of the world. Also if the Sāvakas had not followed the way

that the Lord Buddha went there could not have been any who attained the state

of Arahant Sāvaka to call forth the respect and pūja of the world and to cause the

world to believe and rely on the third refuge (saraṇa). But as regards helping each

other in moderate (modest) ways, between the world and Dhamma it is correct

action (sāmīci-kamma) in the world and there is no harm in it all, unless it becomes


immoderate (immodest) and both sides forget their duties or the work they should

be doing. But in what way should all of us do things for it to be correct action in

Dhamma which progresses to higher and higher levels, so that it will be of value

to ourselves and to the world in appropriate ways? To begin with we must set up

a firm determination, now! For in a short time it will be too late.

If we are going to claim Buddhaṁ, Dhammaṁ, Sanghaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi so that

it truly reaches our hearts, we should make haste to follow the Lord Buddha by

way of practice and then train our hearts to keep within the framework of sati and

paññā.

Do not give way and let the kilesas and āsavas drag your heart away even against

your will and with your full knowledge that they are doing so. Make haste to have

sati, paññā and the practice of diligent effort to go after your citta and forcibly take

possession of it away from the kilesas, otherwise all will be lost and there will be

nothing left of one’s status as a samaṇa—except only a bald head, and there is

nothing unusual in that for anyone can make themselves bald headed at any time.

Do not let yourselves become careless or over-confident and think that the

kilesas are good things and that their extent is small. The dukkha and torture which

is always there pervading beings and sankhāras everywhere so that they can hardly

bear it, and their breaking up and dying in masses all over the world—which we

are continually seeing right in front of us—is due to the kilesas which are the

origin of it all and which drive everything onward in their direction. You must not

think that it comes from any other cause, and therefore you must quickly rouse

sati and paññā which are asleep so as to wake them up and go after the citta and

snatch it away from the kilesas—let us do this for we can!

Then we shall live, sleep, lie down, be contented and relaxed in whatever ways

are appropriate for those who are samaṇas—which amongst the various forms of

occupation that people have in this world is the one that is “cool” and to which

they pay homage and pūja every day.


It has already been stated that when sati and paññā accompany the practice of

diligent effort the citta will be able to attain calm and sukha very soon. When the

heart has dropped into a state of calm it is bound to urge on the practice of dili-

gent effort with sati in that aspect of one’s own Dhamma, whatever it is that suits

one, until one can attain a state of calm every time and on every occasion that one

wants.

When the citta withdraws, rising up out of the state of calm one must start to

investigate by way of paññā, by regarding the parts of the body as being the place

for paññā to go wandering around in.

One may investigate all the parts of the body, or particular parts depending

on what suits one’s character. Think reflectively and look at the parts of the body

in terms of the ti-lakkhaṇa taking any or all of them depending on what one finds

suitable—but see them clearly by means of paññā, then it will be useful.

Sati is very important. It is very good never to let it slip and be forgotten, for

it will be the means of promoting both samādhi and paññā, then it will be useful.

Someone who practises and who can endeavour constantly to maintain sati will

get on rapidly in all stages of Dhamma. Even in every little action one must make

sati to be like an elder brother who looks after one all the time. Then it will be

impossible for the citta to gain the upper hand and take charge because the source

of power and merit which will enable one’s heart to gain freedom from dukkha

in this life is sati. Let us then try and make this ordinary sati change and become

mahā-sati and make ordinary paññā change and become mahā-paññā within our

own hearts.

When sati is strong enough and one directs paññā to investigate, even though

one’s kilesas are all thick and immovable as a mountain, they can be penetrated

without doubt.


You should understand that all the parts of the “persona” (kāya), divided

into the groups rūpa, vedanā, saññā, sankhāra and viññāṇa are like grindstones for

sharpening sati and paññā. When sati and paññā are associated with these parts all

the time without letting up, you need not doubt that you will come to have sati and

paññā which are both sharp and strong.

So please, just set up sati and the searching thought of paññā to go down into

the aforementioned sabhāva dhammas. Calm of heart from the beginning crude

stages developing up to the more subtle refined stages, and the skill and wisdom

of paññā from the lowest up to the highest levels will then become clearly mani-

fest within this same heart. The āsavas which have been allowed to accumulate in

the heart since a long time ago will then be broken up and demolished without

remainder. Even as darkness which has been in a place for ages is dispelled and

disappears, immediately when light comes in.

So if you are wearied of birth and death going on endlessly over and over again,

you must hurry up and take up the weapons of sati and paññā closely attached to

the practice of diligent effort. And do not let up! Then you will see in this heart the

fundamental cause that leads to becoming and birth, which leads to their turning

into graveyards of beings, and of yourself—which is most repugnant, and most

sorrowful!

There is no seeing of any faults and wrongs which one has done in the past to

equal seeing the faults and wrongs of the citta in which poison is buried—in other

words avijjā, the ancestor of birth, always there in oneself since uncountable ages

past.

Having seen as much as this and quite clearly with paññā, who would know-

ingly swallow poison? No! He would get rid of it, throw it away and look on it

with dread, trembling all over. In a similar way, by seeing with paññā the faults

and wrongs of the saṁsāric citta which is thoroughly immersed in and permeated

with poison one will get rid of it immediately by no longer being able to tolerate


the belief that oneself is of this nature. Because there is no calamity to equal that of

the citta which is constantly being stabbed in the back by avijjā and which allows

avijjā to drive it this way and that, to wander through lives both small and great,

being born and dying over and over again.

There is nobody who can come and decide to let one go free from dukkha,

which is this wheel of the round of saṁsāra, in the way that they can let a pris-

oner go free from jail. Therefore the Lord Buddha and all the Sāvakas, when they

had attained freedom made an exclamation as though in defiance of the wheel of

saṁsāra—such as: “The house builder, which is taṅhā, can never again build me a

house—which is my body (rūpa-kāya)—because its ‘vital principle’, which is avijjā,

I have destroyed. And now my citta has attained visankhāra, which is Nibbāna”.

But as for us, when will we be able to make an exclamation like that of the Lord

Buddha? Or will we let the kilesas and taṅhā do the exclaiming, mocking, ridicul-

ing and defying us every day? The body and its parts and sati and paññā exist here

as parts of ourselves, and are we not hurt, pained, irritated and made to feel hot

by the words of mockery, ridicule and defiance of the kilesas and taṅhā? In dullness

we sit or lie down and listen to their words of mockery and ridicule, carried away

in a reverie until we forget ourselves. Is this proper and fitting for we who claim

that we are disciples of the Tathāgata?

How should we overcome our problems, our kilesas and āsavas? We ought to

think and wake ourselves up by means of the practice of diligent effort. For how

did the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas overcome the problems and kilesas that faced

them so that they were victorious and able to bring them all to an end? We should

hurry to use that method to overcome the kilesas which arise in our hearts until

we attain victory like the Lord, and will genuinely deserve to be called disciples

of the Tathāgata.

Again, sati and paññā are dhammas which we should be able to build up in

our hearts, so we ought not to sit or lie down and wait only for a ready-made


sati, paññā, magga, phala and Nibbāna, coming to us from the Lord Buddha or the

Ācariyas for them to become our own wealth, and if we do not seek to develop the

method of searching with reasoned thought and making changes with the use of

our own sati and paññā, then whenever they become necessary, which can arise

at any time, or when an immediate problem arises, where will we be able to find

and grasp them in time? For we have never prepared for this from the beginning

and we are bound to have to submit to the duress of the kilesas, or any of the other

circumstances.

Furthermore, neither the Lord Buddha nor the Ācariyas ever praised those who

were clever only because of what they had learned by heart from things which

were ready-made from other people. But they praised the person who had sati

and paññā with which he was able to think, search and discover things for himself

alone, and who, with the skillfulness of this sati and paññā, looked after himself

keeping away from danger.

Even though the skilful methods of making sīla pure and of developing samādhi

and skill in paññā for the attainment of magga, phala and Nibbāna, were taught by

the Lord in moderately deep ways only, yet there are other skilful ways and meth-

ods of doing this which are different in special ways and which are up to the skil-

ful ingenuity of each yogavacāra, who being interested in finding the skill to cure

himself should more and more think and search for himself.

Although on who practises ought to be able to attain magga, phala and Nibbāna,

it should be realised that these do not come by aimlessly drifting, which means

without causes and effects, without sati, paññā, saddhā (faith) and the practice of

diligent effort as the key, or as the tools for curing himself.

In all the Dhamma that has been told here, all of you should realise in your

hearts that the Lord Buddha is the Dhamma Master which means that the prin-

ciples of reason were constantly in him. And he never tended to give way to ex-

traneous pressures and influences, for the Lord stood firm in the principles of


Dhamma throughout from the day that he was enlightened to the day that he

passed into Nibbāna.

Therefore we should see that the essence of those who are ordained monks

is the sacrifice of life at every moment of breathing, for the Lord Buddha, the

Dhamma and the Sangha, which are the tokens of repayment from the sāsanā will

be our individual immeasurable wealth.

Today the wealth of what is precious in Buddhism has been told so that all of

you who listen may know that you will get joyfulness of heart in being the owner

of that wealth.

This is sufficient for the present time, so I will now end.

aspire4935

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The Way of the Great Teacher • The Buddha •

4 September, 1962—


we have Been ordained in The Buddha Sāsanā, but we did not become ordained

just to hear the story of the Lord Buddha and all the Sāvakas and for nothing else.

We must however follow and practise the story of the Lord; the story which tells

us how he attained freedom from dukkha and became our teacher and our refuge

(saraṇa).

In general, the story of the Lord is the story of gaining freedom from dukkha,

and we who are interested in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha must get hold

of the causes of this—in other words, how were those things done by the Lord in

practice, that were causes, from which results were obtained? Otherwise we will

not be able to go the way that the Lord Buddha and all the Sāvakas went.

It is as though there was a tree with fruit growing on it, and we are only inter-

ested in those growing directly off the main trunk. But we do not think or ques-

tion how this fruit grew there, or what nutrients the tree needs, or what is the right

fertiliser for this fruit to grow and be of value.

The story of the Lord Buddha’s enlightenment and the story of the Sāvakas

who attained enlightenment after the Buddha is the story of “results”. But the

story of “causes” is the way that the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas lived and acted

to attain these ample results.

We who are ordained in the Buddha Sāsanā should therefore not only wait to

hear the story of the results which they attained. For it is right to hear not only

about what results they attained but also about the causes. These causes were the

ways in which they went about doing things and the practices which they did that

brought about the results that they attained. And then we should take them up

as the means by which each one of us may teach ourselves. To illustrate this, how

does the way go from this point to reach that point, or that house, or that town?


And when taking a road to reach any place or town it is important that we start

off right.

The direction in which the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas went is a way along

which worldly minded people do not like to go, so the Lord Buddha and the

Sāvakas differed from others in the world. After they had attained results from

their way, other people in the world felt bound to bow down and reverence the

Lord Buddha as being truly excellent, the Dhamma which came from the Lord

Buddha as being the excellent Dhamma, and all the Sāvakas who became excellent

beyond all others in the world.

This way is trodden with difficulty and hardship because it is associated with

the use of constraint in going anywhere, in staying anywhere, in sleeping, in eating

and in going to the lavatory, etc. Apart from this there is also the constraint of the

heart (citta), like a fence, to enclose and surround it. Therefore this way is such

that all those who wish to go along with the stream of their own desires will find it

difficult to follow the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas. But whoever goes against this

stream, forcing himself to go the way that the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas went

is bound to reach the shore of happiness—which is Nibbāna.

At the present time all of us variously have already taken up the “fighting

equipment” in full measure, and all the articles of our “fighting equipment” are

like banners of victory derived from the victory of the Lord Buddha. The “fight-

ing equipment” consists of the eight requisites which are given to those who are

ordained as bhikkhus and sāmaṇeras in the Buddha Sāsanā. They include the bowl,

the skirt robe (sabong), the upper robe (cīvara), the outer robe (sanghāṭi), the belt,

a razor, a water filter and a case of needles. This is our “fighting equipment” and

it was given to us who are ordained, to be our own property from the day of our

ordination so as to confirm that we are followers of the Tathāgata. He has shown us

his methods of practice and ways of doing things in order that we may gain victo-

ry over the enemy. The enemy being the kilesa, greed (lobha), hate (dosa) and delu-

T h e W a y o f t h e G r e a t T e a c h e r — T h e B u d d h a 157

sion (moha), which are within ourselves in every case. But the thing of the greatest

importance is our own selves. And this time, how hard are we determined to fight

so as to gain victory for ourselves?

The tools in the fight are sīla, samādhi and paññā, and in accordance with the

Middle Way (Majjhimā Paṭipadā) they are subdivided into eight parts, these being:

1. Right view (Sammā-diṭṭhi), Right Thought (Sammā-sankappa)—these two

being the factors of Paññā;

2. Right Speech (Sammā-vācā), Right Action (Sammā-kammanto), Right Livelihood

(Sammā-ājivo)—these three being the factors of Sīla;

3. Right Effort (Sammā-vāyāmo), Right Mindfulness (Sammā-sati), Right Samādhi

(Sammā-samādhi)—these three being the factors of Samādhi;

But when grouped together they are called Sīla, Samādhi and Paññā.

This is the path along which the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas went and along

which everyone in the world finds it so difficult to go.

To start with the Lord went along this way alone, before anyone else in the

world. When he had reached the ‘shore of safety’, with great mettā he brought us

this Dhamma with which he had attained enlightenment and proclaimed it and

taught it to all people.

Those who already had the innate characteristic (upanissaya) of desiring to

attain freedom from dukkha were interested as soon as they heard the Dhamma

which is the principles of truth that the Lord proclaimed and taught, and belief

and faith arose in them.

Some people attained Magga and Phala in the presence of the Lord Buddha,

some attained Sotāpanna, Sakadāgāmī or Anāgāmī and some even attained Arahant.

This is the “fruit” which arises from faith and conviction in the principles of truth

which the Lord Buddha proclaimed.


Some of them took up that aspect of Dhamma which they had heard, and they

behaved and practised in accordance with it on their own in various places, and

there they attained Magga and Phala. A large number did this and this was espe-

cially so with those who were ordained and who liked to wander off and stay in

places that were generally quiet and solitary. When questions (doubts) arose in

regard to Dhamma they went and asked the Lord about them and he gave them

explanations until they were satisfied. They then went and practised accordingly,

until they were able to know it all with penetrating clarity and they became Sāvaka

Arahants and witnesses of the Dhamma, the Truth as experienced by the Lord

which is Dhamma that is not false for anyone.

The word Sāvaka means “one who listens (or hears)”; who listens to both good

causes and evil causes, good results and evil results; who listens both to things

about himself and about others, things which they do by way of body, speech or

mind that are wrong—or right, respectively. None of the Sāvakas were discour-

aged and weak in their practice of sīla, samādhi and paññā, which they all upheld

as their practice of diligent effort. Therefore the history of the Sāvakas who were

able to “go beyond” and gain freedom from the obstructions which are the mass

of dukkha, is the story of people who were brave and cheerful in their dwelling

places which were quiet and solitary, and who were glad at heart in the practice

of diligent effort.

But what will our story be like? We must take the story of the Lord and the

Sāvakas and apply it to ourselves with courage, contentment, and satisfaction with

little in the way of all the various kinds of requisites and possessions, includ-

ing our dwelling places. We must try to cut down and minimise all objects of at-

tachment which are things that disturb the heart. For every object of attachment

which acts in such a way as to give rise to the “cause of Dukkha” was called by the

Lord “Samudaya”—the sphere of the uprising of dukkha. These we must try to cut

down and reduce, or gradually diminish until none remain, by the “Power” of the

“Path” (Magga)—which is sīla, samādhi and paññā.


If we are weak in practising diligent effort for getting rid of the kilesas, then we

will not be able to stand on our own feet. For day after day there is day and night

in the same way, and in themselves they bring no results of good or evil which

can rid us of the kilesas, or alternatively cause them to grow and increase in our

hearts. Only the actions of our bodies, speech and hearts can bring about either

the ending of the kilesas, or the accumulation and increase of them—this is all!

Therefore let us submit to the “story” of the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas so

that it becomes our own story, and let us not be overconfident, careless or lacka-

daisical so that we vainly spoil what we are doing.

We hear only that the Lord had firmness, resolve and diligence and that he hid

himself away in the forest—where he could stay without being disturbed and

troubled by anything. He set himself to be diligent by day and night, and his prac-

tice and diligent effort was made up of unwavering sati and paññā. And we hear

that he attained the stages of Sotāpanna, Sakadāgāmī, Anāgāmī and Arahant.

But we hear nothing about ourselves! Why is that? It is due to the fact that

although the way in which the Sāvakas practised and attained results is still there,

we do not practise in that way and so we do not attain what they attained. If we

practise properly in accordance with the “blueprint” of their practice, that story

will inevitably come back on us as our own story.

With regard to the opportunity and good fortune which has been bestowed

on us monks, we may consider that we have had better luck than others so far as

concerns the practice of diligent effort for tearing ourselves free from dukkha. If

we say that we have no opportunity in spite of the fact that we are in a situation

where there is this opportunity, and if while living in this place we say that we

cannot practise, then what place will we go to in order to practise well? For there

is nobody in the world who has more chance and free time than we have. While

living here we say that there is no solitude! Ordained in this Order we say it is not

good! But where will we live, and in what Order that it may be good?


These loka-dhātus are all in confusion and turmoil and are full of dukkha.

Wherever we live there is nothing but trouble and there is no island or plateau

where we can be at peace—which is sukha—except for the island plateau of Sīla-

dhamma. This is the place of peace and happiness, and whoever walks into its

shadow even for only a short while will be at peace. We may see this precisely,

in the way that those who having faith and belief in the sāsanā take up Dhamma,

the teaching of the Lord Buddha, and put it into practice for themselves, and thus

come to experience bodily well being and a relaxed ease of heart.

This is especially so in those families where there is happiness because there

are no suspicions and doubts between husband and wife in regard to each other’s

behaviour. Each will have happiness because they have trust and confidence in

each other, and in their behaviour there is the Dhamma of contentment with what

they have and satisfaction with their partner in marriage. Each has interest only

in their partner in marriage and neither is interested in other men or women. In

doing work either at home or away from home it will be work which brings bene-

fit to the family with joy and happiness of heart. Both husband and wife have love

and trust in each other in regard to objects of emotional attachment (ārammaṇa)

and they have no great longing for other women and men who could otherwise

be enemies and agents of destruction in their family and in their Sīla-dhamma. As

far as any one family group is concerned, if they act towards each other in this

way the weight of dukkha, heartaches and broken hearts will never come to them.

The Dhamma teaching of the Lord Buddha can bring peace both to lay

people and to those who are ordained, in the foregoing way, because the nature

of Dhamma is peaceful, and whoever follows it in practice is bound to become

peaceful, and this is the result that comes from the quantity of good causes which

have been done and the skill with which they have been done.

We are ordained in the sāsanā and we have opportunities and the blessings of

good characters. If in this state of life we are not at peace, there is no other state of


life more peaceful than this; so if we are not at peace here where shall we go to be

peaceful? We sit in samādhi bhāvanā to become peaceful but we are still troubled,

how then shall we become peaceful? We maintain sīla which brings peace, but we

are not peaceful. We sit in samādhi which brings peace but it turns to trouble. We

train and practise paññā so as to become skilled and able to eliminate the kilesas

and āsavas from our hearts but we find that it is still troubled. What then will come

and make our hearts peaceful? Where in this world is there a peaceful place?

The Lord Buddha (and the Sāvakas) sought before us and nowhere did he find a

place where his heart was peaceful, and so the Lord left home to search for a place

of peace. After his ordination he sought for such a place for six years but found

nowhere that he could say without reservation: “here” or “there”, it is “peaceful”.

With all his power the Lord could not see any such place in the whole wide world.

So he turned and went back into the forest where it was quiet and peaceful and

where other people did not want to go; and he also turned his thoughts (lit: the

flow of his heart) back into the “jungle”—in other words, that territory within the

body and mind where the kilesas congregate. He went down into the depths of his

citta, going into the four Ariya Sacca (Noble Truths), investigating dukkha which is

the “result”, and researching ever deeper until he came to the “cause”, this being

the place where dukkha is manufactured in beings so that they may know its taste

every day endlessly.

To begin with the Lord fixed his attention on his breathing (ānāpānasati), which

is a function of the body, and he went inwards step by step until he came to the

nāma dhammas, which include:

1. The three feelings (vedanā), these being sukha, dukkha and upekkhā, which

are constantly arising within the body and heart at all times, together with:

2. Memory (saññā) which identifies these three feelings, and:

3. The sankhāras which concoct and create all about these three vedanās so that

they follow the way of avijjā, which gives the orders.


4. Even consciousness (viññāṇa), which acknowledges these three vedanās was

relentlessly destroyed by the paññā of the Lord on the night of the full moon

of the Visākhā month.

All five khandhas, which are the “mass” of the Ariya Sacca and pregnant with dukkha

and samudaya were herded into a focal spot by the paññā of the Lord from which

they could not disperse because the power of paññā had surrounded them and

made an impenetrable boundary. Then it (paññā) spun down into the “tunnel”

which is the “fortress” of avijjā whose function was to give orders to do work. In

other words, the paññā of the Lord Buddha explored and examined rūpa, vedanā,

saññā, sankhāras and viññāṇa until they were clearly revealed to him. The immedi-

ate result was that the behaviour of all five khandhas told of their basic cause which

was inherent in them and which came from the “fortress” of avijjā—who alone

ordered them to work.

The Lord then turned his attention away from the five khandhas knowing that

they were certainly not the “thief’ (i.e., the kilesas). Then the Lord took his paññā

down deep, digging and searching until he came to the fortress of the chieftain of

the vaṭacakra—who is avijjā. Using his paññā which was equal to the occasion he

went back and forwards examining and going along with the undulations of avijjā

as it displayed itself. This period the Lord called “Examining the Paccayākāra”.1 In

other words, that process which takes place after avijjā has given orders for work

to be done via the khandhas or the āyatanas, which are the pathways of avijjā.

But this time, however inconspicuously avijjā acted, the vijjā, which is the paññā

of the Lord, knew it and saw its game entirely. And now, avijjā was being held as

the culprit, and the chief detective, who was paññā, was making show him the

stolen goods which he had been in the habit of wandering about snatching, steal-

ing, robbing and plundering.

This was also the time when he trained his paññā to become both supremely

skilled and careful, and the time of the destruction of avijjā.


In examining the activities that come from avijjā, or in examining avijjā directly,

you who are listening should understand that each time it is done it is the means

to destroy the avijjā that is there (where one is examining).

When the Lord had taken his paññā down to the focal point of the vaṭacakra,

investigating all the time without ceasing, he saw that this was the source of all his

dukkha, the source of the changes taking place in the nature of everything round

it (anicca), and the source of all anattā—for where should he reckon that his “self

was? He examined backwards and forwards until he knew clearly with paññā that

this avijjā was the culprit who created all the trouble and confusion so that there

was never any calm and contentment for even a moment.

In other words everything mundane (sammuti) flows down and congregates in

this one spot, and this is where all dukkha is generated. Until this place has been

entirely destroyed, dukkha which is the product of this “generator” will continue

to arise endlessly throughout time, not letting up for even as much as a day—and

this is the cause of even the most extreme forms of dukkha.

If this “cause” is not eliminated it is impossible to get rid of dukkha, because

of the delusion in this “cause”: that: “this is self” and “this belongs to self”.

Everything that derives from this “cause” then becomes “me” or “mine”. Then

dukkha becomes “me” and “mine”. Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha) in its minor

aspects becomes “me” and “mine” (this is because samudaya in its major aspects

has already become “self” and “what belongs to self”).

At this point it spreads out so that good and evil, sukha and dukkha, gain and

loss, gladness and sorrow, are “me” or “mine”. Thus what concerns “self” spreads

throughout the world—more virulent than an infectious plague. Although truly

it comes from just the one origin—in other words Avijjā paccayā sankhāras—which

is the seed for the future of becoming and lives everywhere throughout the world

without boundary, even beyond the oceans.


But it was impossible for the “Avijjā paccayā” to stand against the “diamond

spade” and the “diamond paññā” which the Lord used relentlessly digging, cut-

ting and searching. Thus the vaṭacakra was made to collapse and was submerged

by the power of the Lord Buddha’s paññā. Vijjā and were freed and came to the

surface as soon as avijjā was extinguished. In the last watch of the night of the

full moon of the sixth month (May)2 Dhammopadīpo—the “Full Dhamma” in the

heart of the Lord emerged and there is a saying that on that night the moon and

the Dhamma emerged from the clouds at the same time—which was such a won-

derful thing as had never been seen before in the world in this age. The historical

records tell us how this occurred just this once.

The Lord Buddha sought for peace in the same way as all of us and he found it

nowhere. When the Lord turned his heart back into the quiet and solitary forest,

and into that “forest” which is the assemblage of the four Ariya Sacca, which are

the fundamentals that enabled him to find the “cool shade”, then he found that

ultimate spot which was the locus of the whole mass of his dukkha, and he experi-

enced the arising there of a wondrous peacefulness.

The Lord’s passions (trouble) arose in himself alone, and dispassion (peaceful-

ness) arose in him alone, and even stupidity and cleverness arose in him alone.

Therefore we must come to understand that there is nowhere more passionate

(troubled) than the heart of someone who has kilesas, as also the dwelling place

of the one who is thus at fault and who is “imprisoned”. Then the most suitable

place for raising the citta out of the place of imprisonment (which is the kilesas) is

that which follows the example of the Lord Buddha—in other words, the forest,

or a dwelling place such as this (Wat) where we are at present, and doing those

things which we do here which are for the purpose of becoming peaceful in our

hearts and gaining freedom by not returning to this “hole of urine and faeces”

again.


The Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas lived in solitary places which were peaceful

where they could conveniently do the practice with diligent effort. Therefore all

of us must live like them. We must have a fondness for sīla, for samādhi, for paññā

and for diligent effort, so that we may dwell at ease in all situations (Lit: postures),

and we must be cheerful and joyful in right action—in other words the important

task of extracting the kilesas.

The foregoing concerns external quietness in regard to the body and internal

quietness in the heart. External quietness is the dwelling place of the body and

internal quietness is the dwelling place of the heart, and both these places are

peaceful and suitable for taking up the practice of diligent effort. They are “good

tidings” for someone who is interested in the practice of Dhamma, and the story

of the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas are tidings of this sort.

It is of the utmost importance that one should have sati to be watchful of the

way that one fluctuates and changes all the time, so that wherever one ves or goes

it always allows Dhamma to support and look after the heart. But don’t bring in

the “world” to look after the heart, nor hold to it intimately! If the “world” can

enter and take possession of someone’s heart “fire” will come from his heart and

the result of this will be “heat” or trouble so that wherever he dwells he will be

discontented.

This is like the old story of the fox that had a wound on his head in which there

were worms biting and boring all the time so that wherever he went he was dis-

contented. He went to stay in the shade of a tree and accused the shade for giving

him no satisfaction. He went to live in the open and blamed the open ground for

giving him no satisfaction, he went to a secluded place, he lay down in water, he

ran over the ground, but wherever he went and wherever he stayed he always

complained that they gave him no satisfaction. He ran here and there taking no

food or sleep for he thought that his dukkha came from these various places, not re-


alising that it was due to the wound on his head. But as soon as the wound healed,

this fox became contented wherever he went.

When we apply this analogy to ourselves, we have “wounds on our heads”; in

other words in our hearts where the worms which are the kilesas are biting and

boring all the time.

This means that the kilesas in the sphere of forms (rūpa—visible objects) are

biting into us, and in the spheres of sounds, smells, tastes and things that make

contact with us are biting into us. The kilesas are biting into us on all sides, and so

we are discontented wherever we are. We go from here to stay elsewhere and we

are discontented; we go from a public place to a secluded place and we are dis-

contented; we go to live in the shade of a tree, in the hills, we go down into water,

we get out and live on the ground, in a hut, under the hut, wherever we go we are

discontented. What then are we to blame when the wound and the worms—or

kilesas—are not in these places but on our own heads—in other words in our own

hearts.

The way to get rid of these “worms” from our heads is by means of the use

of the right tools, these being: Sīla—which is the tool for getting rid of the most

gross worms from our hearts. Samādhi—to get rid of the more subtle worms, and

paññā—to get rid of the most subtle worms—or kilesas from our hearts.

When we have used the three tools of sīla, samādhi and paññā to enter and drive

out the gross, the more subtle and the most subtle “worms” (or kilesas) from our

hearts until they have all gone, then wherever we dwell it will be “sukho-viveko”—

quiet both externally and within our hearts, with nothing to agitate us nor to give

rise to anxiety, and no “worms” to bite and bore into us as there used to be. This is

all due to the power of sīla, samādhi and paññā which are equal to the task of driv-

ing out the kilesas and getting rid of them completely even though they are deep

within our hearts.


Therefore, wherever we are we must never be without sati. We must have sati in

all situations—in moving about going here and there, in eating, in sitting, in lying

down, omitting only when we are asleep. We must go about our affairs with sati

and paññā present, and then we may say that we have Dhamma as our guardian

and we will be safe from bad fate (or misfortune).

In addition, there is nobody who creates the foregoing state of danger or bad

fate apart from us—we create the causes giving rise to misfortunes to ourselves.

The result then appears as trouble. This is what happens when sati is lacking; but

if we have sati none of this will be able to come and disturb our hearts and this will

be for our calm and happiness in all situations.

In putting forward diligent effort at all levels of development, sati and paññā

are very important Dhammas and they must always be closely associated with

diligent effort. If sati and paññā are absent during any period when we are prac-

tising with diligent effort, such periods of practice immediately become useless.

Please remember this, so that we shall know that sati and paññā are Dhammas of

such importance. Whenever we walk caṅkama or sit in samādhi, if we do not have

sati and paññā to accompany and guard our hearts, we are doing no differently

from others who walk and sit down normally.

In all situations we must have sati and paññā to support the practice of diligent

effort steadily and continuously without remission. For the kilesas can bring up

their armies from anywhere to trouble our hearts, because what we are is “kilesa-

selves”3 who cause “destructive fire” in ourselves, resulting in trouble for our-

selves. But if we have sati and paññā constantly present together with a saying of

Dhamma, or a characteristic of Dhamma 4 which we are relentlessly investigating,

this will be the preparation for quenching the fire of the kilesas and taṇhā in this

respect.

Then from where will the fire of the kilesas and taṇhā of any kind come to

molest and harm us so that we are troubled? There will not be any at all—except


for the causes of good and evil which we ourselves have accumulated in our past

history.

We must not think that all the various types of kilesas dwell in various places

and that they enter into our hearts to take possession and rob us of our hearts and

take them away. The one heart relies upon the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body to

be its pathways along which it goes out. When it flows out in the direction of the

eyes, then forms (visible objects) appear, in the directions of the ears, nose, tongue

and body, then sounds, odours, tastes and tangibles appear respectively. Then we

seize hold of whichever of these sense data (ārammaṇa) we have experienced due

to sense contact in association with the appropriate sense organ, and it enters the

heart and becomes samudaya (the origin of Dukkha), thus being creative of further

dukkha.

What then should we understand by “kilesa-selves”? When dukkha has been ini-

tiated so that it arises as the story of ourselves—as what we are, we should under-

stand that this comes from the heart which is without sati and without paññā so

that we are permitted to come under the influence of taṇhā—“the impeller”. Then

it drags us towards various sensations and emotions, just following the lead of

avijjā—stupidity—and taṇhā—wanting which is never satisfied—which compels

us to go after what we want.

At present we are ordained in the sāsanā and we must try and find out about

the ways of the “great tiger” who goes about all day and night, who goes about

by way of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body, going out towards forms, sounds,

smells, tastes and tangibles. Then it brings this sense data (ārammaṇa) which is its

food, into its cave which is this body, so as to build up the tiger which is avijjā—

and make it strong. Then it accumulates dukkha so that it arises within us all day

and night.

All this is because we do not have sati and paññā as “nursemaids” to guard the

heart. So there is opportunity for the flowing activity of the heart to sneak out to


emotional sensations, which are poison, and to bring them to inflame us, giving

rise to trouble the whole time.

Therefore we must be people who approach everything with sati and paññā

present in all situations! The state of Lokavidū 5 is attained as a result of the prac-

tice of diligent effort which has sati and paññā as the Dhammas that support and

maintain it. But how? Such a person must know clearly both the external world

- which means natural things everywhere-and the internal world - which means

the heart and all about those things that arise from the heart. Then because the

ruling power of sati and paññā are scrubbing clean and polishing all the time, the

supreme purity of Buddho will emerge and develop into full maturity in his heart.

Today the story of the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas has been told, both as re-

gards the practices which they did and the satisfying results which they attained,

so that all of us may hear what are the fundamental principles that they used, in

order that we may apply them in our own practice so as to follow the way that

they went and to receive the same satisfying results in our hearts.

The important principles that have been emphasised in this talk today are those

of sati together with paññā. These are the most important subjects for anyone who

has the aim of freeing himself from dukkha now or in the future. He must be reso-

lute in sati. Anything that makes contact with him he must know by means of the

power of sati—and consider it by means of paññā. This includes everything of all

kinds and all natures that come into contact with him. They enter and make con-

tact by way of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and heart, and whatever enters in

whatever way, it is by means of just those things which make contact with him that

he must try to train his sati and paññā. Then all things which make contact with

him will become grindstones for sharpening up his sati and paññā so as to make

them steadily sharper and stronger.

But if we let the heart go its own automatic way, all things which make contact

with us will become enemies to sati and paññā, and to our own hearts.


If we have sati present all the time and paññā always thinking and probing, we

may contemplate any of the sabhāva dhammas either external or internal, in other

words the body and the heart (mind), and we are bound to come to know them

quite clearly. Thus for example by examining our own physical bodies starting

from the skin and going inwards we will be able to divide up all the parts of the

body into its individual pieces as we want. Then we can contemplate them in

terms of the ti-lakkhaṇa. In other words, by way of aniccaṁ—the natural processes

of change in the various parts being evident all the time both in the parts of the

physical body; the modes of vedanā, which are sukha, dukkha and neutral feeling;

all modes of saññā, which is the ability to remember and recognise; all modes of

the sankhāras, which are the thoughts and imaginings of the heart; and all modes

of viññāṇa, which are the acknowledgements of those things which make contact

with the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and heart.

We can also examine by the way of anattā—to see that the foregoing things are

not ourselves and not ours, for these things unceasingly display the ti-lakkhaṇa

within themselves. It is only that sati and paññā are not in touch with them and so

do not know how these Sabhāva dhammas are displaying themselves.

“Aniccaṁ” means the process of change that is always going on in nature.

Change takes place in external natural things everywhere. Change takes place

internally in every part of our physical bodies. Changes take place in the sukha,

dukkha and neutral feelings which come to us. Changes take place in saññā—

memory. Changes take place in sankhāras—the thoughts that take place in our

hearts. Change also takes place in viññāṇa—the acknowledgement of sensation.

Each and every one of them always has the process of changing its state inher-

ently within it. As for them being dukkha and anattā, these are like gearwheels

which are meshed together with anicca, and they are all within the machine of the

ti-lakkhaṇa, so that when any one of the gears starts to move all the others must

start to move simultaneously.


If we have sati and paññā continually present while we contemplate in this way,

we are bound to come to see the machinery of the ti-lakkhaṇa—which includes

anicca, dukkha and anattā—doing their work in our bodies and hearts (minds) and

in natural things everywhere. When this is seen clearly, how should we be dull, in-

different and careless hearted, thinking that these natural things are such that we

can place our trust in them? Indeed, we shall see that they are fearful (dangerous)

things in every respect and that we cannot place even the least confidence in them.

All things that have come and gone, all things that have still not come to us,

and all things that we see clearly in the present moment are a “mass of fire”. In

other words, we rely upon the body, then it breaks up. We rely upon sukha and

it breaks up, upon neutral feeling and it breaks up, upon saññā, upon sankhāras,

upon viññāṇa, and each respectively breaks up. Every part is bound to break up,

for there are only things which get broken up and destroyed throughout our

whole being, so what will we rely upon?

If we believe that the body is self, when the body breaks up we have no refuge.

If we believe that vedanā is self, when vedanā breaks up we have no refuge. If we

believe that saññā—sankhāras—viññāṇa are self, when they break up we have no

refuge at all—and then we become “a destitute citta”. Whatever we depend upon

they are only things which break up.

This is the way in which paññā thinks and searches for what is wrong and lack-

ing in oneself so as to correct it, and it examines yet more deeply—that we sit with

dukkha, we lie down with dukkha, that in all four postures we live with the “fac-

tory” of the ti-lakkhaṇa. The machinery is working going round and round in our

bodies and hearts (minds) and never taking a day off to rest. And the products

that come from this factory are anicca, dukkha and anattā which are distributed

throughout the universe. When they experience only a little of it, those who are

not clever shout and moan to each other, and so they complain about dukkha, they

complain about trouble, they complain that things are defective and insufficient,


they complain that there is physical discomfort and that their hearts are not at

ease, and they complain that things are not as they would like them to be.

We live in an uncertain changing world, in a world of ti-lakkhaṇa—of anicca,

dukkha and anattā, and can we find anything to be ourselves? It is we who depend

upon them, and these things which have come to us we believe to be ours entirely.

So when these things die away and disappear we are sorry. We live in a world that

cannot be relied upon so all people and animals are bound to be troubled in the

same ways.

This type of contemplation is only for the purpose of seeing what this world

is like. In addition, when contemplating and experiencing the ti-lakkhaṇa, it is not

necessary to contemplate and to know all three at the same time. It is enough to

contemplate and see just one of the ti-lakkhaṇa which can then pervade all three

of them.

With regard to the meaning of the word lokavidū—in “knowing the worlds”,

it is unnecessary to count how many stones and grains of sand there are in the

earth and the seas, how many trees and hills there are, how much wealth and how

many people and animals there are. Lokavidū means that he knows the ways of the

worlds, and he knows the artful tricks of his own heart which goes about assum-

ing the nature of the world to be such and such, and therefore grasping mistaken

assumptions which become poison to himself. Then this develops into the upris-

ing of the kilesas, taṇhā and avijjā which lead to drifting round and round through

death and birth in saṁsāra, with dukkha over and over again and never stopping

for even a moment. A lokavidū knows the truth of all natural things (sabhāva

dhammas) and lets go of them, letting them go their own way in accordance with

their nature (sabhāva).

Contemplation of the ti-lakkhaṇa is the same sort of thing, for in the body and

all its parts we can contemplate just one part and it will enable us to know that


all the other parts of the body also have the ti-lakkhaṇa inherently in them in the

same way.

Having seen this clearly with paññā how could we keep on clinging and main-

taining false assumptions? We are bound to get rid of them steadily as, bit by bit

paññā sees them clearly.

The reason for our attachment and our false assumptions is because of a lack

of clear understanding, and the reason for our lack of understanding is because

the strength of sati and paññā are still insufficient. If they were sufficiently strong

it would be impossible for any attachments to withstand them. For when anicca,

dukkha and anattā are seen clearly, we are bound to let go and to know them as they

truly are.

The ti-lakkhaṇa in form (rūpa), sound, smell, taste and things which contact

the body are the gross aspects of the ti-lakkhaṇa; in vedanā, saññā, sankhāras and

viññāṇa are the more subtle aspects of the ti-lakkhaṇa. But the ti-lakkhaṇa in their

most subtle aspect are in the avijjā-citta—this being the citta which has avijjā as its

ruler. The ti-lakkhaṇa of this (most subtle) kind are always present with the avijjā-

citta. In other words, at any time when the citta which is full of infatuated delusion

goes out to do anything the kilesas are immediately there. We must look into this

and make it clear because (at this stage) we already know all the sabhāva dhammas,

so what is the nature of this one (the avijjā-citta) that we do not know ourselves?

What will the nature of this one be in the future? Or is the nature of this one what

we ourselves are? If it is ourselves, then we are stuck with it for ever, and this

which is ourselves will go on being born over and over again in all the realms of

becoming forever.

We must look into it in this way so as to examine all aspects of it and to go

steadily in towards it—because we have already cut away the “twigs and leaves

and branches”—in other words we have examined and penetrated the grosser

aspects of the ti-lakkhaṇa. And now we must cut through the trunk of the tree and


pull it out by the roots so that it will be destroyed and die with nothing remaining

that can grow again.

Having reached this stage we have “cut away” and we know as they are, form,

sound, smell, taste and things which contact us, and also rūpa, vedanā, saññā,

sankhāras and viññāṇa. But what is the chief of these things? What is the root of

infatuated delusion? What is the one who grasps at birth in the form of dhātus and

khandhas? This is the one that initiates the fundamental causes which lead to these

states.

We must investigate so as to see “this nature” in the same way as we saw all

the sabhāvas which we have already dealt with. What is knowledge of this one?

Have we yet come to recognise and let go of “self”, or not? If we still do not know

ourselves it shows that we are only skilled externally and that internally we are

still stupid.

In order to be skilful and thorough we must go in and examine “this nature”

once more, for that knowledge which is the chief culprit, the root of vaṭacakra,

the root of our going round and round (in saṁsāra), the seed of all dukkha is all

concentrated in “this nature”. We must investigate and penetrate into the “nature

which knows” and see it as being ti-lakkhaṇa just the same as all the other sabhāvas.

Anicca—the sabhāvas throughout us are all changing. Dukkhaṁ—delusion of this is

bound to immerse us in dukkha. Anattā—where can we say that this is self or what

belongs to self?

“This nature” is the most subtle of mundane things and more so than any

other mundane thing throughout the universe (ti-loka-dhātu). Generally, in regard

to all this, there is nobody who will speak like this and say whether “this nature”

is ti-lakkhaṇa or not. But I ask your forgiveness for speaking by way of natural

principles in accordance with what I have practised and experienced, and I have

explained this to all of you to the best of my ability from all aspects and angles

leaving nothing undisclosed, even though it is not to be found in the text books—


for when we investigate closely into these natural principles we find that they are

like this.

I have spoken in this way so that all of you who practise and are interested

will keep this by you as something to bring to mind and think about at such

time as it becomes necessary, and as something to lead you on to investigate and

to cure yourselves, Because you who practise, who are interested in the higher

Dhamma with putting forward diligent effort will have to reach and pass beyond

the Dhamma in the natural principles mentioned above for certain! Both so as to

know that the principles of the Svakkhāta dhamma and of the Niyyānika dhamma,

which the Lord Buddha gave to those who are interested in Dhamma practice is

not a “worthless dhamma” associated with vain promises and guess work and lead-

ing only to loss. There is “Sandiṭṭhiko” still hidden within it, so that the Dhamma

of the Lord Buddha shall be a banner of victory proving its worth to the world by

practical evidence onward into the future.

The investigation into the “one who knows”, which is the basis of the saṁsāra-

cakra, is to enable you who practise to see the “end point” of becoming (bhava), or

the genuine and true termination of the world. Otherwise it will become such that

we know the world only so far that we return back to the delusion that we have

Dhamma in ourselves; and the final result will be delusion both as regards the

world and Dhamma.

In order to know the world and Dhamma as they truly are we must investigate

down in the “spot” of the “one who knows” which is prominent and clear until

we see with such paññā as is equal to the occasion, that it is basically at fault and

wrong and we cannot find a particle of good in it. The heart in this state will ex-

plosively blow out the substance of vaṭṭa so that we may then see it to our heart’s

content, as well as seeing the danger of it until it shocks and frightens us.

It is as though we had unknowingly gone and taken up a place to sleep in a

cave where a tiger lived. When we heard it roar we thought it was the sound of


gongs and drums and were engrossed in listening to them. But as soon as there

was someone who knew and who told us that this was a tiger’s cave and that this

sound was the roaring of the tiger with jealous concern for its cave, we would

tremble all over and jump out with such fear that we would lose all restraint and

run away taking no heed of distance or obstacles having no time to think of them,

because we would value our life more. This is like the roaring tiger avijjā at the

moment of its expulsion from the citta. With all who have completely gone beyond

the avijjā-tiger, how could this not cause them to be afraid?

While someone still thinks that the sound of the avijjā-tiger is the sound of

gongs and drums, the state is that of us who have avijjā. But those who are in the

state of vijjā only hear the story of avijjā creating dukkha so that beings are tor-

mented—and so they are afraid.

As soon as avijjā has been “blown up”, it means that paññā has broken it up

and dispersed it, and it means that we have gained freedom from the tiger’s cave.

Having run away from the tiger’s cave trembling with fright, who then would

care to return and lie down and listen to the music of the tiger roaring in the cave

again?

All of those who have got away from the tiger’s cave and come to the end of

danger are bound to exclaim in their hearts in the same way in every case that:

we have attained freedom from the territory of the mundane (sammuti), from the

territory of disordered confusion, from the territory of inadequacy, from the terri-

tory of birth, old age, pain and death. The citta which is mundane with the kilesas

which are mundane, together and interdependently create the mass of mundane

conventions which lead beings to go whirling around. We have passed entirely

beyond this fearful nature, and now our citta is not the mundane citta but has

become the free (vimutti) citta. This wandering ever round and round which we

have been doing has come to an end today and from now on we will never again

be “accused” and have to go to “court” to answer the charges of avijjā. From today


our path has parted from that of avijjā which leads to birth and death and we are

going different ways, and our citta has reached Dhamma which is not within the

territory of avijjā, where it could otherwise be followed and taken possession of

by force. Those who have gone away free from the tiger’s cave make this kind of

exclamation.

The story of the Lord Buddha and the Sāvakas tells how they went about things

so that they reached the “land of happiness”. We therefore do things in the way

that they did them, steadily going on until we reach the “nature which knows”,

which is the friend of avijjā and which is completely destroyed by the power

of paññā. After that there are no more mundane assumptions (sammuti) hidden

within. But there is the nature which is not mundane to which the Lord gave the

pseudonym “vimutti”—so as to conform to the ways of the world which has mun-

dane conventions.

We who practise, let our story be like this, let us go about things like this, and

let it happen like this, so that we may be able to experience these things with

paññā. Then, not wasting the opportunity in which we have been born as human

beings, we who have been ordained in the sāsanā will have gone about things in

the same way as the Lord Buddha and all the Sāvakas to the full extent of our

ability, both as regards the practice of diligent effort to cure the kilesas and āsavas,

and as regards the field of gaining liberation in which we will also have used our

ability to the utmost.

And so let all of you who are listening submit to the Dhamma which the Lord

has with mettā given us to practise. For if he had kept quiet not saying anything

and not favoured beings who were in need, such as ourselves, and if he had en-

tered Nibbāna and gone for good, all hope would be lost for those who had set their

hearts on following the way of the Lord and following the way of Dhamma—in

accordance with the verse of Dhamma which in our language (the Thai language)

says: “Whoever sees Dhamma sees me the Tathāgata”.


But the Lord did not think in this way and so he left his words recorded in all

his teachings of Dhamma. Please understand that this is the sāsanā, and whoever

upholds Dhamma upholds the sāsanā.

We must practise to the utmost of our strength and then the results which we

receive will accord with the Dhamma which the “Teacher” taught in every way

from the first beginnings up to the state of freedom (vimutti) or Nibbāna, which

will be the wealth of all of you without doubt.

Now I beg to close this desanā at this point.

Evaṁ.


Notes:

1. Paccayākāra = Paṭiccasamuppāda—the twelve causal links from avijjā to birth and suffering.

2. In the Thai (lunar) calendar the month of Visākhā (approx: May) is the 6th month and not

the 5th.

3. Kilesa-selves—means that all our five khandhas are here because of kilesas and our thoughts

and activities are constantly infused with kilesas.

4. Saying of Dhamma means a parikamma such as, the repetition of Buddho, Dhammo or Sangho

etc. Characteristic of Dhamma means, the development of some aspect of Dhamma such as

the asubha contemplations, the contemplations on death, or the body, etc.

5. Lokavidū—means one who knows the worlds.

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Forest Dhamma · explained in the text. It is hoped that this book will bring the Dhamma to many people and that it will help many people to realise that the living Dhamma is still